Regulating PFAS In The Garden State: When The Going Gets Tough

Arthur J. Clarke and Walker Prentke

New Jersey has a long and storied history of industrialization dating back to the birth of the American Industrial Revolution, when Alexander Hamilton first harnessed the power of Paterson’s Great Falls and continuing into the 20th and even 21st centuries. In Hamilton’s day, this industrialization brought the hope of prosperity to a fledgling nation, and, over time, New Jersey would reap the benefits of the resulting economic surge. But along with the spoils came the burdens of industrialization in the form of longterm harm to human health and the environment due to the uncontrolled release of hazardous substances.

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Overview Of PFAS Litigation In New Jersey

Matthew J. Sinkman

Attorneys, consultants, and the regulated community – including current and former owners and operators of industrial properties – should be prepared for potential claims regarding per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). There already is significant litigation in New Jersey regarding PFAS, and much more is expected. That is because PFAS are ubiquitous in the environment; at least some PFAS pose potentially significant health effects, including cancer; and New Jersey and the federal government have set extremely strict standards for PFAS in drinking water, groundwater, and other environmental media.

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Insurance Coverage Exists For The Forever Chemical In New Jersey

Robert D. Chesler

PFAS – a class of man-made per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances -- is in our groundwater and in our blood. An article in The New York Times43 indicates that this ubiquitous so-called “forever” chemical could trigger a bigger wave of litigation than asbestos. PFAS is in innumerable products, and a study44 cited by the Times found that nearly a third of groundwater samples taken worldwide had PFAS levels higher than the threshold the EPA deems harmful to human health. In addition to creating groundwater pollution, PFAS is also noted by some as a carcinogen. We are currently ‘there at the creation’ of the next wave of environmental and toxic tort litigation.

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Insurance Archaeology: A Strategic Approach To Maximizing Recoveries For Pfas Liabilities

Brian Della Torre

In the 1967 classic film The Graduate, young Benjamin is solemnly advised, “There’s a great future in plastics.” Dustin Hoffman, who played that young man, is now 89 years old and while the movie and the harm from those plastics are easy to find, often the insurance policies from the 1960s, or even the early 2000s, are more elusive.

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