Frackville law office provides legal representation to clients exposed to cancer-causing ‘forever chemicals’
Attorneys from a Frackville law firm are offering to file compensation claims for people who have possibly developed cancer and other illnesses as a result of exposure to PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” found in drinking water.
O’Connor Law announced Monday it is providing the service to those who have consumed water from any water supplier found to have high levels of PFAS — or per- and polyfluorinated substances — and who have suffered one of the following illnesses: kidney cancer, testicular cancer, liver cancer and ulcerative colitis.
Frackville residents get their drinking water from Pennsylvania American Water Co. Frackville District, one of two water systems in Schuylkill County that were detected with high levels of forever chemicals, according to Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Environmental Working Group.
Frackville’s drinking water comes from a groundwater source called artesian wells.
PFAS have been detected in another county water system — Municipal Authority of the Borough of Shenandoah, owned by Aqua Pennsylvania Inc. since last year. The two systems serve a combined customer base of more than 15,000.
PFAS have also been found in large numbers at various sites across Luzerne, Columbia and Montour counties over the past several years, according to O’Connor Law.
James M. O’Connor, an attorney with the law firm, said the widespread levels of the chemicals in the borough inspired attorneys to help affected customers — not just in Frackville, but those who use other water systems.
“It has been affecting other areas, too,” he said, “but because we’re in Frackville and this is where we live and where our current business is, that’s why we really are taking it upon ourselves to try to help these people.”
Anyone interested in filing a claim can contact the law office at 570-874-3300.
“If you have one of those four issues and could be in an area that has shown that there is a high level of PFAS in the water,” O’Connor said, “you could contact somebody like me or a different law firm, and then we would file the claim with you in federal court with some of our partners.”
EWG has managed an interactive online PFAS contamination map of the United States since 2017. Data is updated regularly, most recently on Feb. 5.
EWG’s key findings reported that even very low exposure to some PFAS has been linked to cancer, thyroid disease, weakened childhood immunity and “many other health problems.”
The group identified 177 community drinking water systems in Pennsylvania — including Frackville and Shenandoah — in which PFAS were detected in the water.
O’Connor, who battled cancer as a teenager, said his experience has helped him understand the issues with PFAS among residents of Frackville and other affected communities.
He said that PFAS were a relatively little-known issue across the country until recently, in the past year.
“As a cancer survivor myself, I was appalled to find out about this and about what was in our water system,” he said, “and we are making it our duty to hold these companies accountable and hopefully get something for these families who have suffered through these issues.”
Pennsylvania American has taken steps to address PFAS concerns, Kara Rahn, the company’s senior manager of government and external affairs in eastern Pennsylvania, said in March.
She said approximately $10 million in upgrades to the Frackville Water Treatment Plant that reduce PFAS levels in the water are nearing completion and awaiting DEP approval.
Aqua Pennsylvania spokesperson Patrick Wenger said in a statement in March that samples taken in 2023 depicted by the EWG map “showed the water was non-detect for any PFAS analyte,” and that the sample did detect perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), “which is not currently regulated, nor will it be included in the proposed limit by the EPA.”
He also said that the CDC and EPA estimate that drinking water represents only 20% of America’s overall exposure to PFAS chemicals.
