Photo courtesy of Catoosa County
Lawsuit Filed to Protect Public Health and Taxpayers
RINGGOLD _ Catoosa County filed a lawsuit in State Court to protect the public’s health and taxpayers from the cost of cleaning up and properly disposing of toxic materials used by chemical and carpet manufacturers and dumped in the Catoosa County landfill in violation of the Georgia Water Quality Control Act.
“This case is about toxic chemicals that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found cause – among other things – cancer, organ failure, and low birth weight,” the complaint says.
The chemicals in question are commonly known as “forever chemicals”, or “PFAS”, that were made by 3M, DuPont, and Daikin for products like “Scotchgard, “Stainmaster”, and “Teflon” that were used by carpet makers Shaw Industries, Mohawk Industries, and Aladdin Manufacturing Corporation. The chemical byproducts including toxic sludge, liquid waste and solid waste were dumped in the Catoosa County landfill.
“The toxic chemical makers and users knew of these dangers the whole time the landfill was operating yet deliberately hid them”, the complaint alleges. “The landfill – which operated for a quarter of a century, from 1979 to 2004 – is now pickled in the chemicals, which migrate daily into the waters of the State of Georgia in surface water, landfill “juice” called leachate, and groundwater. The landfill’s gas emissions also carry these toxic chemicals, which float in the air, making it unsafe to breathe, while seeding the clouds, causing toxic rain”.
“We want to protect the public’s health and taxpayers from the burden of containing and properly disposing of these toxic chemicals, which could cost $100 million or more,” said Catoosa County Attorney Chad Young. “Our community has enjoyed a long and beneficial relationship with North Georgia carpet manufacturers and our hope is that we can all agree on a timely solution that safeguards our health, property, water, soil and air. We expect that those who contaminated our landfill with PFAS pay the cost to clean it up.”
The seven-count civil action is filed in the State Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia and is available online at: https://tinyurl.com/44hfn33a.
