Environmental practices of irresponsible and negligent corporate actors wreak havoc on the lives of individuals, their families and all aspects of a community.

Whether toxins are discharged into the water, air, or soil, exposure can lead to severe physical injury and death, often complicated by the fact that the ultimate damage caused by the hazardous materials can be latent – only manifesting itself into cancer or other illness long after the toxic exposure. Pollution also results in substantial economic turmoil; in many communities victimized by corporate pollution, toxicity and the resulting stigma has rendered residents’ homes virtually unsalable.

Phillips & Paolicelli, LLP attorneys have experience spanning three decades building cases and proving that exposure to certain chemicals and substances caused our clients injuries. The attorneys at Phillips & Paolicelli, LLP have obtained successful results for our clients and their communities who have suffered physical or economic harm as a result of negligent or otherwise wrongful environmental practices of a variety of corporations and businesses throughout the United States.

In addition to the financial recoveries we seek, we also demand accountability from the corporate wrongdoers, with a focus on the larger picture of pollution cleanup and improved environmental standards in hopes of creating cleaner, safer communities.

To give an example of our efforts in this area, we are currently representing hundreds of current and former residents of the “Love Canal” community in Niagara Falls, New York, where over 21,000 tons of toxic chemicals were dumped, resulting in a vast array of terrible physical injuries. Please contact us if you would like to explore your rights relating to this or another environmental matter.

For over four decades, the attorneys at Phillips & Paolicelli LLP have represented thousands of victims of wrongful chemical exposures suffering from cancers, birth defects, and intellectual disability. That includes families whose members have been exposed to reproductively toxic and carcinogenic perfluoroalkyl (or polyfluoroalkyl) substances, or PFAS in their homes, communities, or at work.  

PFAS are a family of synthetic chemicals that can repel water, grease, or stains. They are sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals.”  That is because PFAS do not break down in the environment. They can move through soils, contaminate drinking water sources, and build up or bioaccumulate, including in fish and wildlife.

Despite the serious health risks that PFAS chemicals pose, for nearly a century, they have been widely used in industry and consumer products. Examples include perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and Hexafluoropropylene Oxide Dimer Acid (also known as “GenX”).

Widespread use and improper disposal of PFAS chemicals has continued even as scientific literature has repeatedly identified serious risks that those chemicals pose. PFAS have been associated with serious illness and injuries, including but not limited to cancers such as prostate cancer, kidney cancer, and testicular cancer, birth defects or congenital anomalies, preeclampsia, low birth weight, diminished growth and behavioral effects in children, reduced fertility, immune system effects, and high cholesterol.

Community exposure to PFAS can occur through contaminated drinking water, air, soil, food, or consumer products. PFAS have been used in products including Teflon, developed by DuPont in the 1940s, stain-resistant textiles, food-handling materials, firefighting foam, medical devices, paints, personal care products, construction materials, and industrial processing aids. 

According to the EPA, PFAS can be present in our water, soil, air, and food as well as in materials found in our homes or workplaces, including:

• Drinking water – in public drinking water systems and private drinking water wells.

• Soil and water at or near waste sites - at landfills, disposal sites, and hazardous waste sites such as those that fall under the federal Superfund and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act programs.

• Fire extinguishing foam - in aqueous film-forming foams (or AFFFs) used to extinguish flammable liquid-based fires.  Such foams are used in training and emergency response events at airports, shipyards, military bases, firefighting training facilities, chemical plants, and refineries.

• Manufacturing or chemical production facilities that produce or use PFAS – for example at chrome plating, electronics, and certain textile and paper manufacturers.

• Food – for example in fish caught from water contaminated by PFAS and dairy products from livestock exposed to PFAS.

• Food packaging – for example in grease-resistant paper, fast food containers/wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes, and candy wrappers.

• Household products and dust – for example in stain and water-repellent used on carpets, upholstery, clothing, and other fabrics; cleaning products; non-stick cookware; paints, varnishes, and sealants.

• Personal care products – for example in certain shampoo, dental floss, and cosmetics.

• Biosolids – for example fertilizer from wastewater treatment plants that is used on agricultural lands can affect ground and surface water and animals that graze on

In addition, workers can be exposed by touching concentrated products or breathing PFAS in the air at their place of work.  Some jobs known to experience significant PFAS exposures are chemical manufacturing workers, firefighters , and ski wax technicians. Decades of heavy PFAS use have resulted in contamination of water, soil and the blood of many people and animals across the world.

If you or a loved one is suffering from cancer or a birth defect that you believe may be caused by exposure to chemicals including PFAS, please contact Phillips & Paolicelli, LLP today to set up a free consultation at (855) 220-6770.