NJ awarded record $2B in damages
DuPont, others will fund cleanups, cerate reserve
By: David M. Zimmer
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... A federal court settlement worth more than $2 billion, the larges environmental settlement ever reached by a single state, is set to fund the cleanup of widespread PFAS contamination at four former DuPont industrial sites across New Jersey officials announced Monday August 4. [2025]
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The agreement, which includes the cleanup in Pompton Lakes, comes after years of litigation over the toxic legacy of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFDAS, a class of persistent and potentially cancer-causing compounds sued in firefighting foam, repellent coatings and chemical manufacturing, said state Attorney General Matthew Platkin and Environmental Commissioner Shawn LaTourette.
..... "When I became attorney general in 2022, I pledged to fight corporate polluters who, for decades, have knowingly contaminated our land and water with PFAS and other dangerous chemicals," Platkin said in a statement. "PFAS are particularly insidious . These dangers
chemicals build up and accumulate everywhere and New Jersey has some of the highest levels of PFAS in the country."
..... The settlement follows a month of trial proceedings in federal court and resolves four lawsuits, including a 2019 case involving the heavily polluted Chambers Works facility in Salem County. In addition to Chambers Works, the agreement addresses contamination at the former DuPont Repauno site in Gloucester County, the Parlin plant in Middlesex County and the Pompton Lakes Works site in Passaic County.
..... Once a major industrial hub stretching across 570 acres in Pompton Lakes and Wanaque, the DuPont site in Passaic County manufactured explosive components and metal casings from 1902 until its closure in 1994. But the real legacy lies underground. Decades of operations left behind a complex plume of lead, mercury and volatile organic compounds that spread through soil, sediment and groundwater, affecting nearby homes and waterways. Cleanup efforts began in the early 1990s and continue today, [08/04/2025] shaped by vapor intrusion concerns, residential mitigation systems and ongoing environmental monitoring.
..... The deal requires DuPont and related corporate defendants - including Chemours, Corteva and others - to pay $875 million in natural resource and other damage and to fund abatement work, including drinking water treatment. the companies will also create a remediation fund of up to $1.2 billion and a $475 million reserve to ensure that cleanup work continues even in the event of corporate bankruptcy or default.
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The financial terms will be paid out over 25 years, state officials said.
..... "Polluters who place profit above pubic well-being by releasing poisonous PFAS and other contamination in our state can expect to be held responsible to clean up their mess and fully compensate the state and its citizens for the precious natural resources they've damaged or destroyed," LaTourette said. "This landmark settlement will advance New Jersey;s nation-leading PFAS abatement efforts, improve drinking water quality and restore injured natural resources."
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PFAS often referred to as "forever chemicals," do not breakdown naturally and have been shown to accumulate in soil, water and human tissue. They are considered likely carcinogens and have been linked to kidney, liver and testicular cancer as well as developmental and automimmune disorders.
..... New Jersey began pursuing PFAS polluters in court in 2019 after a DEP directive targeting DuPont, 3M, Solvay and other manufacturers. Since then, the state has erased three major settlements, including a May 2025 agreement with 3M for up to $450 million, a $393 million deal with Solvay in 2023 and a more recent settlement with Arkema Incorporated totaling more than $100 million in combined damages and guaranteed funds.
..... The latest round of litigation focused heavily on Dupont's use of PFAS compounds at its New Jersey facilities. According to Department of Environmental Protection records, Dupont operations at Pompton Lakes, Parlin, Chambers Works and Repauno led top decades of chemical discharges into groundwater, surface water, wetlands and surrounding ecosystems.
..... The Pompton Lakes Works site manufactured explosives and blasting caps and discharged toxic solvents and metals, including mercury and lead. Chemicals, primarily trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, were dumped into unlined lagoons and gradually seeped into soil and groundwater, eventually vaporized into the basements of nearby homes.
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Despite early awareness by regulators as far back as 1984 and evidence of contamination under homes by the late 1990s. DuPont concealed the extent of the vapor intrusion risk for years, as reported in years of coverage from The Record and NorthJersey.com , calculating the 2018 investigative series "Toxic Secrets: Pollution, evasion and fear in North Jersey."
..... The company resisted vapor testing, delayed public warnings and pressured regulators, while residents unknowingly inhaled toxic vapes inside their homes, staff writers found. Legal settlements in the early 2000s even required residents to waive future claimed before vapor risk were disclosed.
..... Testing in 2008 confirmed widespread vapor intrusion in Pomptom Lakes, prompting the installation of mitigation systems in more than 330 homes, Still, the underground plume remains largely unaddressed, fueling long-standing district among residents, who report elevated cancer rates and other health problems. A 2009 state health study found higher-tan-expected rates of kidney cancer in women and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in men living above the plume.
..... DuPont oversaw operations in Pompton Lakes for decades before spinning off its chemical division into Chemours in 2015. In the years that followed, DuPont restructured its corporate entities in moves that state environmental officials said were designed to shield the company form liability.
..... Chemouse has since taken over responsibility for the site, but company officials have described the cleanup as complex and slow.
..... Critics continue to push for more aggressive actions and a reserve fund included in the state's new legal agreement is intended to ensure that future cleanup costs are not funded by taxpayers.
..... New Jersey
was the first to set drinking water standard for certain PFAS compounds and has completed statewide water testing studies to track contamination levels. Platkin said the state's total recovery from PFAS-related lawsuits now exceeds$3 billion.
..... "I am pleased that the companies agreed to a settlement rather than continue with the trial," he said.
..... State officials said funding from the settlement will be sued to help public water systems and private well owners install or upgrade filtration systems to remove PFAS from drinking water. Cleanup work at the four DuPont sites is also expected to begin, under state supervision.
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"This resolutiioon embodies the steadfast commitment of the Department of Environmental Protection and our attorney general to hold all PFDAS polluters to account,' LaTourette said, "and to protect public health, safety and the environment form these harmful chemicals."
Pompton Lakes Works timeline:
* 1979: Internal DuPont documents first note off-site pollution.
* 1984: State confirms solvents migrating off-site
* 1997: DuPont denies vapor intrusion risk despise no home testing.
* 2001*2008: Regulators push for vapor testing: DuPont resists.
* 2004: Residents settle lawsuits waive future claims.
* 2008: Vapor intrusion publicly acknowledged: mitigation systems begin installation.
* 2009: Helaht study shows elevated cancer rates.
* 2010s-presnet: Cleanup efforts continue: plume remains unaddressed.