BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - A former Boston firefighter is suing a group of companies that he blames for his prostate cancer.
The lawsuit, filed Feb. 15 in Suffolk County Superior Court by plaintiff Kenneth Gibson, is one of many over a group of chemicals known as PFAS, which are used in firefighting foam and consumer products like waterproof clothing and non-stick cookware. The exact health effects of PFAS, which is found in the bloodstreams of virtually all Americans, are not known.
Litigation along the West Virginia-Ohio border resulted in a medical monitoring program that linked C8, a PFAS chemical, to six diseases. But some caution against using such a small sample to pass regulations that would expose many companies to liability.
Gibson was a firefighter in West Roxbury and Boston. He said he was exposed to PFAS-containing foams during his 13 years and was diagnosed with prostate cancer in October 2020 at 45 years old.
Among the defendants are 3M, E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. and Tyco Fire Products. Paul Bliss of Justice Law Collaborative is representing Gibson and his wife.
PFAS continues to be required in firefighting foam by the U.S. government. PFAS lawsuits have been consolidated in a multidistrict litigation proceeding in South Carolina federal court.