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On Monday, April 18th, a federal judge ordered Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation to pay $34 million for a class-action lawsuit filed against the company. The lawsuit was filed over the presence of PFAS chemicals in the soil and groundwater of a southern community in Bennington, Vermont. The company will pay $26.2 million to compensate Bennington, Vermont, property owners for alleged damages. They will also pay $6 million to monitor the health of those exposed to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
Two former ChemFab Corporation factories that had be purchased by Saint-Gobain were determined to be responsible for distributing PFOA chemicals through exhaust emissions. The lawsuit was filed in May of 2016. Saint-Gobain has since paid over $40 million to comply with state consent orders to extend municipal water lines to homes with wells.
The Vermont Legislature has passed a bill stating in Vermont, people exposed to chemicals can sue the polluter for medical monitoring. This bill is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Phil Scott, although he had vetoed two other previous medical monitoring bills. Claims against Saint-Gobain can still be filed through August 22, 2022.