Legal Lowdown

WV Rivers Coalition vs. Chemours - An Explainer on the Motion for a Preliminary Injunction

WV Rivers Coalition vs. Chemours - An Explainer on the Motion for a Preliminary Injunction

For years, Dupont has been polluting waterways and soils with the forever chemical PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid or “C8”), a type of PFAS that is used in Teflon coatings.  C8 is linked to numerous sicknesses, which have harmed or killed cattle, fish, wildlife, and humans.   [1] In 2001, private citizens sued Dupont to hold it accountable for the damage it caused and continues to cause. As one of the responses to that lawsuit, Chemours started as a spinoff of Dupont’s chemical manufacturing arm and became independent in 2015.[2] 

The now independent company has a manufacturing plant along the Ohio River in Washington, West Virginia.

Update on the East Palestine Train Derailment

Update on the East Palestine Train Derailment

Much has happened in the East Palestine community in the past year and a half since the Norfolk Southern train derailment – lawsuits have been filed, government investigations were carried out, and laws were proposed in response.    Many nonprofit organizations, including Fair Shake, have worked to help the community deal with the accident and the collective response. 

Who is Responsible for Ensuring Drinking Water at Schools and Child Care Centers are Lead Free?

Who is Responsible for Ensuring Drinking Water at Schools and Child Care Centers are Lead Free?

For over a century, our governments failed to regulate lead as it entered almost every facet of our consumer market and infrastructure. Despite long-standing knowledge of the risk of lead poisoning, lead was used for its versatility and low-cost. New studies estimate that at least half of the United States population was exposed to adverse lead levels during early childhood. While statutes and regulations have been put in place to prevent the continued use of lead in infrastructure and some products, few hold anyone responsible for affirmatively removing lead hazards.