AFFF Firefighting Foam Lawsuit (PFAS)

What Is This Lawsuit About?

The AFFF Firefighting Foam lawsuit involves claims against the manufacturers of Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), a specialized firefighting foam that has been used for decades to suppress petroleum-based fires at military bases, airports, fire training facilities, and industrial sites. The foam contains PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a class of synthetic chemicals often referred to as "forever chemicals" because they do not naturally break down in the environment or the human body.

AFFF was developed in the 1960s by 3M in collaboration with the U.S. Navy and became the standard firefighting foam for combating jet fuel and petroleum fires. For decades, it was used extensively during both emergency fire response and routine training exercises at thousands of locations across the United States. Each use released PFAS compounds into the soil and groundwater, creating widespread contamination of drinking water supplies.

Thousands of firefighters, military personnel, and community members allege that they developed serious health conditions — including kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, and ulcerative colitis — as a result of PFAS exposure from AFFF. Plaintiffs claim that manufacturers like 3M and DuPont knew about the dangers of PFAS for decades but failed to warn users or the public.

The litigation is consolidated in MDL 2873 in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, before Judge Richard Gergel. The MDL includes claims from both public water systems (seeking cleanup costs) and individuals (seeking compensation for health injuries). In 2023, 3M agreed to pay $10.3 billion to settle water utility claims, and DuPont/Chemours settled for $1.185 billion. Personal injury claims for firefighters and affected community members continue to proceed through the courts.

Who Qualifies?

The AFFF lawsuit encompasses a broad range of individuals who were exposed to PFAS through firefighting foam. The two primary groups are those who directly handled and used AFFF (firefighters and military personnel) and those who were exposed indirectly through contaminated drinking water (community members living near AFFF-use sites).

To qualify, you must demonstrate both a history of PFAS exposure connected to AFFF and a diagnosis of a qualifying health condition. An experienced attorney can help you evaluate the strength of your claim based on your specific circumstances.

How PFAS Exposure Occurs

Understanding how PFAS from AFFF reaches people is critical to establishing exposure in a legal claim. The contamination pathway typically follows a predictable pattern from foam use to human exposure:

Firefighters face particularly high exposure risk because they come into direct contact with AFFF during training exercises and emergency fire suppression. The foam can be absorbed through the skin, inhaled as mist or vapor, and ingested if protective equipment is not properly used. Military firefighters and those at bases with dedicated fire training areas (known as "burn pits" or fire training areas) may have had the most intense and prolonged exposure.

Community members living near military bases, airports, and fire training facilities can be exposed through contaminated drinking water. PFAS from AFFF use seeps into the ground and migrates into aquifers that supply municipal and private wells, sometimes at levels far exceeding EPA health advisories. For more on the broader scope of PFAS contamination, see the PFAS "Forever Chemicals" lawsuit page.

Health Conditions Linked to AFFF/PFAS Exposure

Scientific research has established associations between PFAS exposure and a range of serious health conditions. The following are the primary conditions that form the basis for AFFF personal injury claims:

The conditions with the strongest evidentiary support in the AFFF litigation are kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease (including thyroid cancer), and ulcerative colitis. These conditions formed the basis for the C8 Science Panel findings (a panel established as part of the 2005 DuPont settlement with affected West Virginia and Ohio communities) and have been supported by subsequent independent research.

Lawsuit Timeline

The AFFF litigation has evolved from early environmental contamination concerns to one of the largest mass tort actions in the federal court system. The timeline below traces the key milestones in this litigation:

Settlement Amounts & Verdicts

The AFFF litigation has already produced two landmark settlements for public water system claims:

Important distinction: The above settlements are for public water system claims (municipalities suing for water treatment and cleanup costs), not for individual personal injury claims. Personal injury claims from firefighters and community members with health conditions are a separate track within MDL 2873 and are still proceeding through litigation.

Individual personal injury settlement amounts have not yet been established through bellwether trials, but they are expected to vary significantly based on the type and severity of the health condition, the duration and intensity of PFAS exposure, and the strength of causation evidence. For context on how mass tort settlement amounts are typically determined, see our detailed guide.

How to File an AFFF Claim

If you are a firefighter, military veteran, or community member who has been diagnosed with a health condition linked to PFAS exposure from AFFF, the following steps outline the process for pursuing a legal claim. For a broader overview of how this type of litigation works, see our guide on how mass tort lawsuits work.

Named Defendants

The AFFF litigation targets the companies that manufactured, marketed, and sold AFFF products containing PFAS compounds. The major defendants include:

Scientific & Medical Evidence

The scientific foundation for the AFFF lawsuit draws from decades of research on PFAS health effects, including both independent academic studies and findings from corporate and government investigations:

The scientific evidence connecting PFAS from AFFF to health conditions continues to grow. Related environmental contamination lawsuits, including the Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit, share similar themes of long-term toxic exposure and delayed corporate accountability.

Frequently Asked Questions