192 citizens from an area in France known as ‘Chemical Valley’ are taking the chemical companies Arkema France and Daikin Chemical France to court, in one of the largest civil lawsuits ever filed over PFAS. The claimants are seeking more than €36 million in damages, amounting to roughly €190,000 per person.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of over 10,000 chemicals, also known as the ‘forever chemicals’ as they are highly persistent and take generations to break down in the environment. Exposure to some PFAS has been linked with adverse health impacts, including certain cancers, reduced fertility, and the disruption of the immune system.

Over the past few years, concern has been growing about PFAS pollution in ‘Chemical Valley’ after a journalistic investigation revealed the extent of the problem, and reports have found widespread PFAS presence in the air, soil and water, as well as the blood of residents. A group of concerned citizens in Pierre-Bénite (the town where the Arkema factory is located) brought a legal challenge against Arkema France in 2023, but it was eventually dismissed.

Notre Affaire à tous, one of the organisations supporting the civil action, has estimated that costs of cleaning up the area could amount to €2 billion over 20 years. This follows a recent report from the EU, which warned that the EU is on course to pay €440 billion over the next 25 years to cover the costs of PFAS pollution and related health impacts.

This case is the latest in a number of legal actions being brought against PFAS manufacturers for PFAS pollution. Last year, in a landmark ruling, eleven former executives of the Italian chemical company Miteni were sentenced to a total of 141 years in jail after they were found guilty of polluting the groundwater and soil in a region in Northern Italy. Read more in our news story.

With PFAS hotspots increasing in number across Europe, these cases highlight the growing legal risks associated with PFAS pollution.

CHEM Trust supports the proposed EU-wide universal PFAS restriction, which will apply to all PFAS, and will control pollution at source once introduced.

Read more about the universal PFAS restriction here, and the availability of PFAS alternatives.

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