PFAS in Water: What to Check in Pennsylvania

Federal PFAS claims are centralized in MDL 2873 (In re: AFFF Products Liability Litigation) in the District of South Carolina (Charleston) before Judge Richard M. Gergel. Pennsylvania plaintiffs — including Philadelphia Water Department and numerous municipal utilities — file directly into MDL 2873. Pennsylvania also has significant DuPont/Chemours legacy PFAS contamination separate from military AFFF sources.

Philadelphia Water Department and other utilities near AFFF-impacted sites are eligible class participants. Pennsylvania DEP has issued PFAS advisories for multiple affected public water systems.

Pennsylvania's statute of limitations for personal injury is 2 years from the date of injury under 42 Pa. C.S. § 5524. For latent PFAS-related diseases (kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease), Pennsylvania courts apply the discovery rule tolling limitations until the plaintiff knew or should have known of the injury and its toxic cause.

Pennsylvania's major PFAS contamination sites include: Willow Grove Naval Air Station / NAS JRB Willow Grove (Montgomery County — PFAS plumes in surrounding communities), Horsham Air Guard Station (Horsham Township), former Warminster Naval Air Warfare Center (Bucks County — affected Warminster, Warwick, Horsham, and Hatfield Township water supplies), Philadelphia International Airport surroundings, and the Delaware River basin receiving industrial PFAS discharges from DuPont/Chemours Washington Works plant (just across the border in WV/OH but affecting downstream PA communities).