BALTIMORE — People around the world have been wearing Gore-Tex for nearly 60 years. And now, the state of Maryland is suing them over forever chemicals, this comes after a two-year-long class-action lawsuit by people living near the company's Cherry Hill facility in Elkton, Maryland.
PFAS, or forever chemicals, are a family of chemicals that serve a variety of purposes.
"Things that are non-stick, stain resistant, waterproof, grease resistant, fire-fighting foams, cookware. You know, you name it," says Rob Bilott of Taft Law.
Bilott brought PFAS into the spotlight in the '90s when he took on DuPont, and made sure Americans knew all about forever chemicals.
"These chemicals are incredibly toxic, persistent, bioaccumulate, and now we know also they cause cancer," Bilott said.
With that knowledge, the state of Maryland and over 4,000 current and former Elkton residents are suing W.L. Gore, also known as Gore-Tex. Alleging the company knew how toxic the chemicals were and continued contaminating the area for nearly 50 years.
"W.L. Gore has been involved in, what we believe, very harmful conduct towards Marylanders," says Anthony Brown, the Attorney General of Maryland.
RELATED: Elkton community speaking out against PFAS linked to cancer in water
Philip Federico, a partner with Brockstedt Mandalas Federico, who represents the class action plaintiffs, says the contamination comes primarily from two sources.
"It came from their stacks," Federico said. "And then it would come out the stacks and down onto the surface of the ground where it would seep into the soil, and then into the groundwater. But there were some discharges of significance throughout the years as well, directly into the groundwater."
W.L. Gore says they found out about the contamination two years ago, and since then they have been working with the state to test well water.
State of Maryland suing Gore-Tex
"You know you're going to have to pay ten grand, or whatever, for a filter to get this water fixed up," says Daniel Martin, a former Elkton resident.
W.L. Gore says they offered alternative access to water including connecting 13 residents to artesian water, bottled water for 195 residents, and point-of-entry treatment systems for 146 residents — of which 78 residents accepted.
"You can't really escape it just by getting your own water filter because anywhere you go is going to be using that water," Martin said.
Martin's lawyers plan to prove in court that the people of Elkton lived with contaminated well water, and a host of health concerns, including cancer.
"I think a lot of people are obviously upset," Martin said. "You know there's people that have gotten, you know, sick and things like that and they're wondering, 'is this the cause of why we got sick,' - including myself obviously."
Maryland's Attorney General plans to prove that W.L. Gore knew the chemicals were toxic.
"We're going to show through the course of this litigation the evidence that supports our factual allegations that they knew," Brown said.
A sentiment echoed by Federico.
"Somebody else didn't do this, they did it," Federico said. "They know they did it. The state of Maryland knows they did it. Everybody knows they did it. It's not really something that's subject to much debate."
The court documents filed by Maryland's Attorney General allege the same, saying, "...upon information and belief, they knew that APFO is non-biodegradable and toxic, and thus would merely flow unaffected through the City's wastewater treatment plant and be discharged to the receiving stream at very high concentration."
W.L. Gore denies the allegations filed by Maryland's Attorney General saying, "W.L. Gore & Associates (Gore) denies the allegations in the complaint and is surprised by the Maryland Attorney General's decision to initiate legal action, particularly in light of our proactive and intensive engagement with state regulators over the past two years."
To read the full court filings for the federal suit filed by Maryland's Attorney General, W.L. Gore's response, and W.L . Gore's contamination response, click below.
