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Alameda County in California is suing 3M Co, DuPont de Nemours Inc, and 16 other smaller companies over toxic forever chemicals. California is asking the companies to recoup the clean-up costs from the toxic pollutants.

Source: Associated Press/YouTube

Attorney General Rob Bonta said that the lawsuit follows a multiyear investigation that found that these companies sold products containing PFAS, which are known to cause cancer and developmental defects, among other serious health problems. The lawsuit could reportedly seek hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties and costs.

DuPont responded by saying they have never manufactured PFOA, PFOS, or firefighting foam. They said that they believed they were incorrectly named as a defendant.

A spokesperson for 3M said that the company “acted responsibly in connection with products containing PFAS and will defend its record of environmental stewardship.”

Bonta said that these companies need to pay to clean up the PFAS that they produced. These chemicals have been found in drinking water, rivers, lakes, wildlife, and the bloodstreams of about 98 percent of California’s approximately 39 million people, CNN reports.

“The damage caused by 3M, DuPont, and other manufacturers of PFAS is nothing short of staggering, and without drastic action, California will be dealing with the harms of these toxic chemicals for generations,” Bonta said.

Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally moved to label some ‘forever chemicals‘ as hazardous after years of knowing just how dangerous they are to public health, animals, and the environment. While this big move will help clean up two of the dangerous forever chemicals, there will still be many more that need to be addressed.

These substances can last for years in the environment and pose a huge risk to all living things. The PFAS are used to make just about every daily product you can think of, including nonstick cookware, fabrics, pizza boxes, food packaging, cosmetics, and even carpet. They are currently allowed in every state except Hawaii and are even found in things like furniture, waterproof clothing, rubbers, plastics, and even dental floss.

These chemicals even leach into drinking water which affects millions of people all around the world. Researchers estimate that more than 200 million Americans in every state could have cancer-causing carcinogens in their drinking water, CBS News reported. These chemicals don’t break down and contaminate soil and drinking water and can be found just about everywhere. Forever chemicals are in the bloodstreams of 99 percent of Americans.

The health effects of forever chemicals include various forms of cancer, reproductive problems, weakened childhood immunity, birth defects, endocrine disruption, liver disease, and more.

Sign this petition to stop industrial industries from dumping harmful toxic chemicals into our waterways!

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