"US Kleenex plant contaminated drinking water with PFAS, lawsuit says," 19 March 2024

Toxic PFAS... pollution from a Connecticut Kleenex plant has contaminated nearby drinking water, put residents’ health at risk.. a new federal class-action lawsuit alleges...

The plaintiffs are seeking $5m in damages and health monitoring costs.

In an emailed statement, Kimberly-Clark, Kleenex’s parent company, denied responsibility for the pollution. ...

Kleenex has produced paper goods at the New Milford plant since the 1950s... and it continues to make 1m Kleenex tissue packages daily, the suit states...

A Kleenex spokesperson denied that the company uses PFAS at the plant.

“We strongly believe the allegations made in this lawsuit are entirely unfounded,” he said. “We plan to vigorously defend these claims and will continue to ensure we maintain the trust our consumers and others have in our products and our company.”

However, the company’s restricted chemicals roster only lists PFOA and PFOS, two of about 15,000 types of PFAS compounds that exist. When asked for clarification as to whether the company restricts all PFAS or just the two compounds, the Kleenex spokesperson said, “All I can share with you at this point is the statement we provided.” ...