Michigan AG Secures First PFAS Settlement as Plastics Company Commits to Environmental Cleanup

In a significant development, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced on Monday that a plastics manufacturing company has agreed to address the PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) pollution at the site of its former facility. This marks the first settlement resulting from a series of PFAS lawsuits filed by Nessel in 2020.

As part of a consent decree filed on January 12 in Livingston County Circuit Court, Asahi Kasei Plastics North America Inc., also known as APNA, will conduct an investigation to determine the extent of PFAS pollution in the soil, groundwater, and surface water from the Whitmore Lake Road site. They will also assess the migration of this pollution.

The company is taking responsibility for cleaning up areas where PFAS concentrations exceed state limits. Asahi will bear the costs of the cleanup, contamination testing, state oversight, and the state’s attorney fees associated with the lawsuit.

PFAS, a group of persistent manmade chemicals that do not break down, are widely used in manufacturing, firefighting, and household products. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to health problems such as liver damage, thyroid disease, cancer, fertility issues, and other concerns.

APNA was one of the 17 companies sued by Nessel in 2020, including industry giants like 3M and DuPont, as they were involved in manufacturing materials containing PFAS. The state attorneys accused these companies of deliberately concealing the risks associated with these chemicals and mishandling them in a manner that led to environmental contamination. Most of these lawsuits are pending as part of a large multidistrict litigation in South Carolina. However, due to Asahi’s willingness to settle, its case was separated from the broader litigation, as stated by Nessel.