The Navy prevailed in a legal battle between state and federal toxic cleanup law centering on PFAS chemicals.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Wednesday drew a bright line between hazardous substances designated by law, like lead and arsenic, and those that may be hazardous but aren’t yet officially designated, including poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The decision may harm the chances of other communities, like the plaintiffs, who are seeking medical monitoring based on the presence of PFAS in their drinking water.
The plaintiffs, led by the Giovanni and Palmer families, live near ...