A Blue Poly pipe lawsuit is a lawsuit that was filed against the Duvernail Company in 2021. The original complaint said that Duvernail poured chemical cleaner into their blue poly pipe, which contributed to the formation of cancerous tumors. The United States Environmental Protection Agency and Duvernail are disputing this claim. What is not in dispute is that Duvernail did use the blue pipe, which contributed to the formation of the cancerous tumors. What is being debated is whether or not the carcinogenic effects were caused primarily by the chemicals used during the pipes construction or if the cancers came later. According to Duvernail’s lawyers, the answer is both.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has stated that they are aware of nine different studies that showed evidence of the cancerous tumors’ existence.
They state that seven of these studies showed a link between Duvernail blue poly pipe and the development of tumors. The company’s lawyers say that none of these nine studies show causation. Additionally, they point out that two of the studies done by non-profit researchers showed a link between aluminum consumption and brain tumors, but the government agencies have deemed these studies insufficient to cause concern.
Duvernail has also been accused of concealing data on several occasions when submitting reports to the EPA.
The fact that the government found that certain carcinogens existed in the material doesn’t mean that any danger to humans was whatsoever. They had to look for other sources of the carcinogenic compounds in the blue poly pipe. They had to look for other countries that used similar polymers that were susceptible to carcinogenicity in their pipes.
This all adds up to a company that didn’t take any notice of data that could potentially prevent them from being fined heavily for polluting.
What makes things more complicated is that Duvernail itself had previously received fines for failing to take proper care of the environment. Their permit was revoked in 2021 for the same reason. At that point, the company had already started to use the blue poly pipe in many of its projects, even though it was listed as a “hazardous substance” under the Clean Air Act. At that time, it was still listed as a material “as used for construction”.
The company has also had to pay fines for the violation of the Clean Water Act even though that doesn’t include the use of blue poly pipe.
In fact, the only way that the EPA could fine Duvernail would be if it could prove that harm was caused by the toxin that is used in the poly pipe. In short, if the company was proven to be at fault for releasing toxic waste into the air and ground water, they might be liable for the blue poly pipe lawsuit as well.
Lawyers are attempting to use this type of lawsuit to force companies to take responsibility for the health problems caused by their product, even if they feel that it was the quality of the product that was at fault.
There have been class action lawsuits against these types of companies, but not much has been produced because courts haven’t been able to determine whether or not the material is inherently dangerous. Unfortunately, there is no law in the United States that attempts to regulate asbestos, so it’s the onus of the homeowners to find an attorney who will fight for them in court. They can hire their own attorney or work with an attorney who works on a pro Bono basis.
