(WWJ) A paper company that operated a mill in Port Huron is being sued by the Michigan Attorney General over the alleged release of PFAS chemicals in the form of a "toxic sludge" that contaminated the environment.
Announced this week, the lawsuit was filed by the Department of Attorney General against Domtar Industries, Inc., a paper manufacturer that formerly operated in Port Huron, and runs mills in several states and in Canada.
The lawsuit focuses on releases of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from its manufacturing processes and from the paper sludges generated by Domtar that contain high levels of PFAS but were represented as “inert," according to AG Dana Nessel.
According to a news releases, that the AG called "toxic sludges" then contaminated the environment at a composting business in St. Clair County.
Domtar is an international paper manufacturer, and its locations included a mill located at 1700 Washington Avenue in Port Huron, Michigan, which operated in various forms for over one hundred years. The sludges at issue were sent to Techni-Comp, the AG says, a composting facility in Port Huron, where PFAS have been detected in groundwater and surface water at levels that exceed state standards.
The lawsuit seeks costs and damages from Domtar to address its releases of PFAS into the environment. The AG is also asking for a ruling from the Court on Domtar’s liability and an order to fully investigate and remediate the contamination from Domtar’s operations.
“Michigan residents should not be left holding the bag for the impacts of corporate PFAS contamination, nor for the costs of cleaning it up,” said Nessel, in a statement. “My efforts to hold companies accountable for contaminating our communities will continue where corporations are not taking adequate remediation efforts or responsibility for their actions.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, polyfluoroalkyl substances, better-known as PFAS, are manmade chemicals not naturally found in the environment that are used in a variety of industrial and consumer products, such as carpeting, clothing, upholstery, food paper wrappings and fire-fighting foams. Studies have found these chemicals are linked to cancer.
The suit against Domtar follows Attorney General Nessel’s PFAS-specific lawsuits against multiple PFAS manufacturers, separate lawsuits against manufacturers of PFAS-containing firefighting foam, a lawsuit against Asahi Kasei Plastics North America pending in Livingston County Circuit Court, and an action against FKI Hardware Inc. pending in Kent County Circuit Court.
More on today's top stories:
Related
