Ulcerative Colitis Lawsuit Filed Over Toxic Chemicals in Water From Firefighting Foam

Manufacturers of firefighting foam have known for decades about the risk of water contamination, but failed to warn the public about the potential side effects, lawsuit claims.

A New York man indicates in a recently filed lawsuit that he developed ulcerative colitis from drinking water contaminated with toxic PFAS chemicals, which have been released into the environment for decades by firefighting foam products used by the U.S. military and local fire departments.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by William Giamas in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina on October 15, pursuing damages from a number of different chemical and fire safety equipment manufacturers, including 3M, BASF, DuPont and others.

Giamas indicates that the companies knew their aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) products would release toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into local drinking water supplies, yet failed to warn municipalities or the public in general about the serious health risks.

Firefighting Foam Drinking Water Contamination

PFAS include a group of over 9,000 man-made substances, which are widely used to resist grease, oil and water. However, they are known to persist in the environment and build up in the human body, causing a number of serious side effects.

Most of the PFAS health concerns have stemmed from water contamination caused by the large volumes of the chemicals dumped into the environment from AFFF, which has been widely used throughout the United States by the military and firefighters to fight fuel-based fires.

Following training and response exercises, PFAS chemicals in the firefighting foam often find their way into local water supplies, particularly around military bases, airports and firefighter training locations, increasing the risk for ulcerative colitis, testicular cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer and thyroid disease.

AFFF Contaminated Water Led to Ulcerative Colitis Diagnosis

According to Giamas, he spent years, as many millions of others did and still do, drinking New York water without being informed it was contaminated with PFAS chemicals.

“As a result of Plaintiff’s exposure to Defendants’ fluorochemical products, Plaintiff was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, which has caused Plaintiff to suffer severe personal injuries, pain, and emotional distress,” Giamas’ lawsuit states. “The injuries, pain, suffering, and emotional distress were directly and proximately caused by Defendants’ fluorochemical products.”

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that affects nearly 700,000 Americans, impacting the lining of the intestines and colon. The chronic condition produces painful and debilitating symptoms, including severe abdominal pain, blood in the stool, diarrhea, fever, fatigue and weight loss.

There is no cure of ulcerative colitis caused by AFFF, and it typically results in a lifetime of treatment with corticosteroids, immunomodulators or other medications.

Health Risks From Contaminated Drinking Water Ignored

Giamas’ lawsuit indicates that the Defendants knew of the health risks associated with firefighter foam as early as the 1980s, including the risk that PFAS chemicals could migrate into groundwater.

Since PFAS resist natural degradation, Giamas claims that the manufacturers knew or should have known that it would render drinking water supplies unsafe, requiring substantial expense to remove the toxic chemicals. However, rather than warning about the risk or taking steps to address the problems, the manufacturers ignored the problem.

3M, for example, began to notice the buildup of certain PFAS in their workers as early as 1983, the lawsuit notes. The complaint also indicates that DuPont knew about the potential toxicity of PFAS since the 1960s, through its pollution of the Ohio River.

As a result of the defendants’ apparent decision to put profits before public safety, Giamas presents claims for design defect, failure to warn, negligence, gross negligence, battery, fraudulent concealment, actual fraudulent transfer, constructive fraudulent transfer, seeking both compensatory and punitive damages.

October 2024 Firefighter Foam Lawsuit Update

Giamas’ complaint joins more than 8,000 AFFF lawsuits now being pursued by former firefighters directly exposed to the chemicals during training and response exercises, as well as other PFAS water contamination lawsuits, alleging that contamination from military bases, airports and firefighting training centers resulted in various injuries.

To manage the rapidly growing litigation, all lawsuits over PFAS brought in U.S. District Courts nationwide are currently centralized and consolidated for pretrial proceedings before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel in the District of South Carolina, due to common questions of fact and law that have been presented in all of the claims.

As part of the coordinated management of the litigation, a small group of early PFAS trial dates are expected to start in 2025, involving claims that individuals developed testicular cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, thyroid cancer, thyroid disease and ulcerative colitis, after drinking water known to be contaminated with high levels of the chemicals.

While the outcome of these early trial dates will not have any binding impact on other claims being pursued throughout the federal court system, they are designed to help gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation.