Saint-Gobain Settles Toxic Exposure Class Suit for $34 Million

Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. will pay up to $34.15 million to settle class action claims that it exposed residents of two Vermont towns to a toxic chemical that was discharged into their drinking water, after a federal court approved the deal.

The plaintiffs alleged that over a period of two decades perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was released from two facilities operated by Saint-Gobain and its predecessor in Bennington and North Bennington, Vt., causing widespread groundwater and property contamination.

Two classes were certified—residents who drank contaminated water and experienced an accumulation of PFOA in their bodies as demonstrated by blood tests, and ...