PFAS May Be Legal Focus ‘For Generations,’ Toxics Experts Say (1)

Attorneys will continue to wrestle with the ways existing laws apply to “forever chemicals” in securities, insurance, and other litigation, a former EPA official said Thursday.

Challenges may involve whether there’s been adequate disclosure of the business risk associated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, and what insurance can cover, said Granta Nakayama, who served as assistant administrator at EPA for enforcement and compliance assurance from 2005 through 2009.

Novel legal approaches to allocating liability may also arise, Nakayama, head of the environmental, health, and safety practice at King & Spalding’s Washington office, said ...