The Murphy administration sued DuPont, 3M and others Tuesday for making and selling firefighting foam products for decades in New Jersey that contained toxic chemicals.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal actions taken against the chemical manufacturers over widespread pollution caused by PFAS: a group of toxic chemicals including PFOA and PFOS that have been in everyday use for almost 80 years.
Nearly one in five New Jersey residents receive tap water that contains at least trace amounts of one of these chemicals, some of which have been linked to cancer.
The lawsuit, filed in state Superior Court, alleges that the companies knew that their firefighting foam posed a significant health threat.