Chemical giant dragged to court over shocking scandal in public drinking water: 'Exposed to real and ongoing harm'

A federal judge ordered Chemours to stop contaminating a drinking water source that serves millions in the Ohio Valley. 

Yet court documents reveal the chemical giant has shifted the blame to a surprising culprit.

What's happening?

Judge Joseph R. Goodwin ordered Chemours to bring its Washington Works plant in West Virginia into compliance by stopping excessive discharges of HFPO-DA into the Ohio River. HFPO-DA is a perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFA), or "forever chemical," connected to cancer, organ damage, and immune system problems, among other things. 

However, Chemours pointed to "wet weather conditions" as a key reason why it was not able to meet the obligations of its permit, which doesn't include an exemption for rain events. 

According to court documents, Chemours said "complying with the 2018 Permit's much lower HFPO-DA limits has proven to be technologically challenging, particularly for stormwater." Plant manager James Hollingsworth also testified about the matter in court, per official documents.

"Nothing that we've thought of that we could do immediately that would allow us to get into compliance. We've looked hard at that," he said. 

Why is this important?

The Ohio Valley is one of three regions in the U.S. experiencing the largest average increases in hourly rainfall intensity, according to Climate Central, as rising global temperatures have supercharged Earth's water cycles and increased flood risks nationwide. 

This uptick in extreme weather — fueled by heat-trapping pollution generated by human activities — could bode poorly for the health of the Ohio River and the public if Chemours doesn't urgently comply with the court's preliminary injunction.

According to court documents, Judge Goodwin ruled that the "public is exposed to real and ongoing harm" as a result of Chemours' ongoing and likely to continue violations. 

For its part, Chemours intends to appeal the decision. In the meantime, a trial is scheduled for Sept. 16 to settle remaining issues, including civil penalties.

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What is Chemours doing about this?

Chemours spokesperson Cassie Olszewski told Manufacturing Dive in late August that "Washington Works has demonstrated positive progress in reducing its PFAS emissions."

"Washington Works' HFPO-DA discharges in question have fallen within the permitted limits in recent months, and we will look to maintain this compliance as we continue to implement abatement actions and take other steps at the plant," Olszewski said.  

Olszewski added that Chemours is also testing samples from public water systems and determined that the water is safe, and it has installed and activated water treatment systems.  

Nonetheless, the International Energy Agency lists the chemical sector as the "third-largest industry subsector in terms of direct CO2 emissions" — CO2, or carbon dioxide, is the most abundant heat-trapping gas generated by humans — and Chemours recently signed a strategic agreement with Indian company SRF Limited to increase its supply.

Moreover, Chemours has been embroiled in a series of PFAS contamination lawsuits, as Manufacturing Dive notes. In October, if it doesn't reach a settlement, the chemical giant will go to court for "the first bellwether personal injury trial" after the plaintiffs accused Chemours, DuPont, 3M, and Corteva of causing kidney cancer due to their reliance on PFAS. 

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