Water Contamination in Massachusetts Communities

Chemicals found in firefighting foams are causing water contamination in communities around the country. For residents in Hyannis, Hyannisport and West Hyannisport, alarmingly elevated levels of PFOS and PFOA were found in their their wells. This lead Barnstable town officials to issue public advisories for the Hyannis water system on more than one occasion since 2015. In this case the source of the toxic chemcials PFOA and PFOS is the Barnstable County Fire and Rescue Training Academy and Barnstable Municipal Airport.

Though the Hyannis water advisories are recent, partner Louise Caro told The Cape Cod Times that she “suspects some residents may have had long-term exposure to contaminants, since firefighting foams containing the contaminants could have been used for decades at the fire training academy and airport.” Though the damage can have a latency period, there are still potential health dangers for those individuals drank the contaminated water for a short period of time.

PFOA and PFOS have linked to thyroid disorders, developmental effects on fetuses during pregnancy, liver damage and testicular & kidney cancers.

Caro told the newspaper, “the firm would pursue medical monitoring for litigants, enabling them to receive screenings for most of their lives to catch any potential cancers at an early, and hopefully treatable, stage.”

The planned class action lawsuit is against the manufacturers of the firefighting foams, such as 3M but the town or county could also be included as defendants.

Napoli Shkolnik PLLC is currently pursuing water contamination litigations on behalf of residents of Westhampton, Newburgh Flint, Hoosick Falls, New Hampshire and other communities. We are here to help; contact us if you are experiencing side effects or property damage related to water contamination. The consultation is free and confidential.