People in Bennington attend a recent public hearing about the North Bennington water crisis. Nearby Pownal reported low levels of contamination Thursday.(Photo: Courtesy Chris Wright)

A group of Bennington County residents have filed a class-action lawsuit against Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, the company Vermont says is responsible for PFOA contamination in their drinking water.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Rutland on Friday, accuses the Paris-based company of negligence in the handling and disposal of perflurooctanoic acid, a suspected carcinogen.

“Saint-Gobain knew or reasonably should have known that the use of PFOA in its manufacturing process and/or the discharge or release of PFOA into the environment was potentially hazardous to human health and the environment,” Patrick Bernal, a Bennington County-based lawyer for the plaintiffs, wrote in the complaint filed in court.

Vermont began testing water around North Bennington in March, after the chemical was found in nearby Hoosick Falls, New York. Since then, the Department of Environmental Conservation has implemented a statewide testing program while providing bottled water for affected residents. More than 100 wells have PFOA limits exceeding 20 parts per trillion, Vermont’s standard.

Saint-Gobain used PFOA to make Teflon coatings. Fiberglass fabrics were dipped into a chemical solution of Teflon, PFOA, and other chemicals, according to the civil complaint. The solution was melted onto the fabrics at temperatures over 650 degrees Fahrenheit, releasing emissions into the air.

The French company closed the North Bennington plant in 2002, in part because of Vermont’s air pollution regulatory standards. PFOA does not break down in the environment.

The plaintiffs are asking a federal judge for more than $5 million in damages to compensate for a loss of property value, as well as the general inconvenience caused by the contaminated wells.

They are also asking the court to order Saint-Gobain to pay to connect the impacted properties to a municipal water supply, to implement remedial measures to prevent further PFOA contamination as well as to clean up residents’ properties, and to establish a long-term health monitoring program to watch for signs of illnesses associated with PFOA exposure.

Bernal said the point isn’t to set a precedent for what companies owe residents when contaminants are found, but the lawsuit has the potential to do so. He added that residents from around Vermont have expressed concerns about possible contaminants in their water.

PFOA is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as an emerging contaminant of concern, a class of contaminants believed to be harmful to human health and present in the environment. The EPA does not set maximum contaminant levels or mandate regular testing of emerging contaminants.

The EPA has set a provisional limit of 100 parts per trillion for PFOA for Hoosick Falls, but Vermont has set an enforcement standard of 20 parts per trillion.

“To the best of Saint-Gobain’s knowledge, it does not believe that any scientific basis has been shown for a health advisory level of 20 ppt for PFOA,” wrote Edward Canning, the director of Saint-Gobain’s Environment, Health & Safety department, in a March letter to the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Saint-Gobain is appealing the 20 parts per trillion enforcement standard in state court, and the appeal is still pending, said Saint-Gobain spokeswoman Dina Pokedoff.

The company has agreed to pay for bottled water, water testing and to install filtration systems for affected wells, but has not admitted responsibility for the contamination.

“We are evaluating the claims, and we respect the right of individuals to pursue their claims in a court of law,” Pokedoff wrote in an email to the Burlington Free Press. “Our priority has been and continues to be ensuring the residents of North Bennington have clean drinking water.”