2BInformed: The Future of Fluoride in Drinking Water, the New TSCA Fees Rule, and the Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List 5
DynCorp's 'Strategic' Defense In Drug Crop Spraying Suit
Exposure to toxic substances like arsenic, asbestos, benzene, cadmium, dioxins, fluoride, herbicides, lead, mercury, and pesticides can create serious and lasting health risks. These hazardous materials are often encountered...more
On August 15, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed nearly 270 bills into law, including legislation expanding jurisdiction for claims of exposure to “toxic” substances, as well as two new laws regulating the use of PFAS. In a...more
On August 15, 2025, Governor Pritzker signed Senate Bill 328 into law, amending Illinois's long-arm statute, Section 2-209(b), and the Illinois Business Corporation Act of 1983....more
On Friday, Aug. 15, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 328 (“SB 328”), which permits toxic tort lawsuits against companies that operate in Illinois even in situations where the defendant company and individual...more
Amended Illinois Senate Bill 328, which passed both chambers of the Illinois legislature on 1 June 2025, was officially signed into law by Governor Jay Robert “JB” Pritzker on 15 August 2025 as Public Act 104-0352. The...more
On August 18, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in Sommerville v. Union Carbide Corp., reversing the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West...more
This potential expansion of general jurisdiction in Illinois applies only for actions that allege injury or illness resulting from exposure to a toxic substance as defined under the Uniform Hazardous Substances Act of...more
On Aug. 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit held that exposure to ethylene oxide (EtO) constitutes a concrete, present injury sufficient for Article III standing where costs for present medical monitoring are...more
We previously blogged about a decision in the In re Deepwater Horizon BELO litigation – Ruffin v. BP Exploration & Production, Inc. – in which the Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for defendants in an alleged chemical...more
Following years of heightened concern about the dangers of exposure to ethylene oxide (EtO), increased regulatory oversight, and a steady hum of litigation, in 2025 it seems like things might be changing for the beleaguered...more
On July 9, 2025, in Hammond Power Solutions Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance Co., the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision granting summary judgment to the insurer and finding, under...more
Monsanto has recently settled with families who claimed they were exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a school near Seattle, ending what had become one of the most closely watched toxic tort cases in recent memory....more
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)—a branch of the World Health Organization mandated to investigate potential causes of cancer—conducts its own hazard evaluations of suspected carcinogens and publishes...more
Plaintiffs in toxic tort cases must prove both general and specific causation, generally through the testimony of experts. Experts must establish that a specific chemical exposure can (and did) cause the specific injury at...more
Last month, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced its new classification for “automotive gasoline and some oxygenated gasoline additives.” In a result that follows IARC’s previous pattern and...more
What You Need to Know in a Minute or Less - Effectively defending emerging contaminant litigation requires counsel capable of navigating extremely complex scientific issues related to causation, while also not losing sight of...more
A Colorado jury issued a defense verdict following a six-week trial during which four women alleged their respective cancers were caused by exposure to EtO emitted by the nearby Terumo Blood & Cell Technologies Lakewood plant...more
The Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) MDL has taken a significant step forward with the introduction of a new case management program intended to streamline the complex process of product identification. The program’s...more
Amidst mounting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulation and litigation, the Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) judge overseeing the federal litigation related to firefighting foam has scheduled a “Science Day.”...more
As litigation involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continues to rise, manufacturers of PFAS-containing products face significant legal and financial risks. Plaintiffs, including individuals, communities,...more
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of thousands of chemicals manufactured since the 1940s for use in consumer products and industrial processes. This article presents an overview of the PFAS phenomenon. ...more
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals,” have been in use since the 1940s and have been added to a wide variety of products to make them resistant to heat, water, oil, and corrosion. PFAS...more
On April 14, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released draft conclusions in a report updating its analysis regarding formaldehyde exposure, suggesting that long-term exposures to small amounts of formaldehyde...more
The Region 6 Office of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued an October 29th news release announcing it awarded $224,000 to the Arkansas Department of Education (“ADE”)....more
Justice: (1) the principle or ideal of just dealing or right action; (2) conformity to this principle or ideal The concept of environmental justice is straightforward, the pathway to practical solutions are often...more