October 2, 2021

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A plastics company in upstate New York agreed to pay $23.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit claiming it knowingly polluted well water with a toxic chemical.

The Times Union reports the proposed settlement, agreed to by Taconic Plastics, would benefit hundreds of residents in Rensselaer County whose drinking water was contaminated with a manufacturing chemical.

The settlement would establish funds to pay Petersburgh property owners and to set up a 15-year medical monitoring program for individuals who had a certain level of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, detected in their blood.

Exposure to PFOA has been linked to cancer and other illness.

Taconic’s president issued a statement Friday saying he was pleased the case had been settled.

Article Source: https://apnews.com/article/business-environment-and-nature-new-york-lawsuits-8ffbefd5c246b70a8b5077815d77cbe0