WACO, Texas — The City of Waco has filed a lawsuit against makers of a firefighting foam linked to "forever chemicals" and cancer.
Waco's city council voted to join the class action lawsuit on Sept. 9, which is filed in the United States District Court of South Carolina.
The plaintiffs allege chemicals inside the foam, called aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), can potentially cause illness including cancer and do long-term damage to the environment.
Waco used the foam for years at its airport to fight fuel fires.
Poly-fluoroalkyl materials (PFAS) are the so-called forever chemicals inside the foam, which the body cannot expel naturally and do not break down in the environment over time.
PFAS chemicals are resistant to heat and very effective at extinguishing class b fires fueled by accelerants such as gasoline, cooking oils, paint, and kerosene or other petroleum products, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
Many state and federal agencies prohibit the use of the foam and chemicals in fire suppression.
Fort Worth and San Angelo are two other Texas cities among the 5,600 plaintiffs.
The lawsuit says the chemicals have been in use since the 1950's, and manufacturers have known about the cancer risks — but never disclosed them.
Jennifer Richie, who serves as Waco's city attorney, sent this statement to 25 News:
“The City of Waco, along with Fort Worth and San Angelo, Texas, want to join the national litigation concerning firefighting foam products that were required to be used for many years at airports, including the Waco Regional Airport. These products can contaminate water, wastewater, soil, and groundwater. In the lawsuit against manufacturers, distributors, and others involved in profiting from the sale of these chemicals, we seek our costs in testing and monitoring and possibly remediating and/or treating for any contamination.”
The next scheduled hearing on the class action suit will happen on December 14, 2023 at 10 a.m. in the United States Federal Court in the District of South Carolina.
