PFOA folk hero files lawsuit over Hoosick Falls water

Michael Hickey, an insurance underwriter credited with discovering a toxic chemical in the Hoosick Falls water system two years ago, filed a federal class-action lawsuit this week against Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics and Honeywell International, which both operated manufacturing plants that are a focus of the contamination. Hickey, 37, filed the lawsuit on behalf of himself […]

Litchfield Town Manager on PFOA: Residents Concerned About Health, Home Values

State environmental officials continue to investigate to what extent drinking water systems in southern New Hampshire have been contaminated with the chemical known as PFOA. More water sample results are expected soon, as the state now says Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics in Merrimack is likely the source of that contamination. The community that’s been most affected […]

400 New Hampshire properties get bottled water over PFOA

Bottled water will be provided to 400 properties in two New Hampshire communities where elevated levels of a chemical used to make Teflon coatings had been found in the drinking water. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services has suggested that the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant in Merrimack is likely responsible for the perfluorooctanoic acid […]

Honeywell signs R1234yf deal in China

 Note from FAN: “… In a statement following a test at Mercedes’ HQ in Sindelfingen, near Stuttgart, Walter Pütz, director of vehicle certification and regulatory affairs at Mercedes-Benz Cars said: “the whole vehicle can catch fire and the burning refrigerant [R1234yf] generates acutely poisonous hydrogen fluoride which poses a severe danger to both passengers and […]

Gloversville and Johnstown: Fluoride issue affects water plan

Fulton County wants Gloversville and Johnstown to resolve a fluoride issue before the county spends money on a $255,000 water-connection project involving the cities. The project would benefit a planned regional business park. … [County Planning Director] Mraz said C.T. Male’s evaluation of the city of Johnstown water system determined that in order to supply […]

It’s National Teflon Day – But Hold the Celebration

On this day in 1938, a DuPont chemist named Roy J. Plunkett in Deepwater, N.J., accidentally discovered polytetrafluoroethylene, a slippery substance remarkably resistant to water, grease and stains. DuPont patented PTFE as Teflon. To honor Plunkett’s discovery, April 6 is National Teflon Day, according to nationaldaycalendar.com, which tracks such things. We won’t be celebrating. Teflon […]

PFOA: Installation of carbon filtration systems in Petersburgh delayed

PETERSBURGH, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Some Petersburgh residents will be getting carbon filters due to the PFOA contamination, but the installation process has been delayed. Lenore Humphrey has lived in Petersburgh for decades. “They would have to take their dad’s doubled up handkerchiefs and hold it over their face,” she said of her children because of […]

Gov. Shumlin Outlines Next Steps on PFOA Response

MONTPELIER – Gov. Peter Shumlin today provided an update on the State’s response to the detection of the chemical PFOA in southern Vermont and provided information on additional testing that will be conducted around the state. These additional tests are not a result of specific concerns for drinking water safety. Rather, they are being conducted […]

PFOA Testing Expanded To Include 11 More Sites, Many In Chittenden County

Gov. Peter Shumlin has announced that the state will test additional manufacturing sites around Vermont for PFOA, a suspected carcinogen that’s been found in North Bennington and Pownal. The Department of Environmental Conservation says it’s tracked down 11 other locations that might have used the chemical, including eight in Chittenden County. Among them is the […]