Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez filed a lawsuit on behalf of the state Thursday against 25 manufacturers of what is commonly called forever chemicals found in aqueous film-forming foam for use in firefighting, as well as common household products, including cookware, stain and water-resistant fabrics, cleaners, paints and carpeting.

“PFAS chemicals have contaminated our environment and can cause serious health problems for the people of Hawaii,” Lopez said. “Corporations that have created and unjustly profited from the sale of PFAS must pay to address the harms caused by PFAS throughout our state.”

The state alleges the defendants, including 3M Co., DuPonte De Nemours Inc. and Tyco Fire Products LP, among other manufacturers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, have concealed the serious risks to human health and the environment.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded PFAS compounds are known to cause “decreased fertility; preeclampsia and high blood pressure in pregnant women; adverse developmental effects in children such as low birth weight, accelerated puberty, bone variations and behavioral changes; increased risk of certain cancers, including kidney and testicular cancers; reduced ability of the body’s immune system to fight infections, including reduced vaccine response; interference with the body’s natural hormones; ulcerative colitis; thyroid disease; and medically diagnosed high cholesterol and/or risk of obesity,” the complaint says.

The complaint alleges the manufacturers’ “deceptive and unlawful actions” have caused or contributed to the “PFAS contamination of the state’s air, soil, sediment, biota, surface water, groundwater, drinking water, watercourses, wetlands and other natural resources.”

The lawsuit stresses the importance of safeguarding fresh water, not only for drinking, but for supporting native wildlife, recreational activities including swimming and fishing, aquaculture and kalo cultivation.

The complaint lists examples of contamination found in samples of drinking water from Kunia Village as having perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS, one type of PFAS) levels as high as 50 parts per trillion, 12.5 times higher than the proposed federal maximum contaminant level of 4 parts per trillion.

In 2022 Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam had PFAS contamination likely from aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF, products. “By today’s standards, the maximum concentration of PFOS measured at the base would be approximately 655,000 times higher than what EPA considers health-protective,” the complaint says.

The state contends it will require massive effort and expense to investigate, treat and remediate the contamination of the state’s natural resources and property, and to supply potable water to its people.

PFAS has been found in sea turtles, whales, dolphins and Hawaiian monk seals, the Department of Health reported.

The PFAS in AFFF has been used for firefighting training and emergency response at Hawaii airports, military installations and industrial facilities and other locations across the state.

The complaint said they have been used extensively at Hawaii airports and military installations since the 1940s, and had been used up until the recent past in Hawaii by local, state and federal fire departments.

The Honolulu Fire Department said in response to questions by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that it now uses Class A foam that does not contain PFAS.

HFD discontinued by 2015-16 its use of Class B foam containing PFAS, which it began using “years ago.”

“Currently we do not know of any HFD firefighters experiencing health problems related to Class B foam or PFAS,” HFD said.

Common consumer products containing PFAS include personal, family and household products that go by the trademarked names of Stainmaster, Scotchgard and Teflon.

The complaint says defendants have known for decades the dangers of the toxic PFAS.

“Despite this knowledge, Defendants chose to not take steps to reduce those risks and instead continued to advertise, market, manufacture for sale, offer for sale, and sell PFAS-containing Products, including AFFF products … to State and local government, businesses, and consumers so that Defendants could reap enormous profits. … Defendants seek to foist the equally enormous costs to address those problems back on the victims of their concealment.”

Hawaii Fire Fighters Association President Bobby Lee said that although firefighters no longer have to fear the risks of using the firefighting foam containing PFAS, they face another threat.

“PFAS is in our protective equipment,” he said. “As much as possible we want to limit the use of their protective equipment to when they absolutely need it.

The rubberized material used in the gear they wear in response to structure and auto fires and chemical incidents to protect against moisture and heat, including hazardous liquid spills, contain PFAS.

“Hopefully they will be able to find a substitute material sooner than later,” Lee said. “They don’t have any other substitute at this time to protect our firefighters from the hazards of our job.”

Lee said he has gone to all the counties’ fire chiefs asking to limit the use of the protective equipment containing PFAS. Turnout coats are now used for medical calls rather than the PFAS- containing gear.