ALBANY – Citing contamination
of the City of Newburgh’s water supply from the use of firefighting
foam, which includes the carcinogens PFOS and PFOA at the Air National
Guard Base at Stewart Airport, Governor Cuomo and Attorney General Barbara
Underwood announced Wednesday the state would sue the six companies that
manufactured the chemical.
The lawsuit seeks to hold the companies accountable and recover state
costs and natural resource damages associated with the contamination at
several sites.
Newburgh City Manager Michael Ciaravino said the latest action is potentially
good news.
“I know the State of New York has advanced a lot of money for cleanup
costs and if the liability can shift to either the manufacturers of the
firefighting foam or the United States Government – the military
– there may be some liability to be shared amongst many parties
in this lawsuit,” he said.
“As state experts continue to investigate contamination caused
by firefighting foams, New York is working to end the dangerous practices
that threaten our natural resources,” said the governor.
“The conduct of these manufacturers caused widespread contamination
of our drinking water and our environment – and jeopardized the
health of tens of thousands of New Yorkers,” said Underwood.
Defendants in the suit are 3M Company, Tyco Fire Products LP, Chemguard,
Inc., Buckeye Fire Equipment Company, National Foam, Inc., and Kidde-Fenwal,
Inc.
The City of Newburgh has filed a notice of suit, telling the state and
federal governments, the Defense Department and National Guard, among
others that they may file a federal lawsuit.
