Lawsuit filed for Reese Center area residents is among hundreds for firefighting foam contamination

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - A New York based law firm is adding Lubbock residents to its fight with manufacturers of a firefighting foam used on former Air Force bases, alleging the substances have harmed the health and well-being of residents who consumed contaminated groundwater.

The class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina where, “multidistrict litigation is currently comprised of approximately five hundred cases.”

According to the Court, the hundreds of cases all involve various claims about the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances found in the foam and their impact on individuals and businesses surrounding military bases and other industrial sites that used this foam.

Napoli Shkolnik PLLC is the firm that filed on behalf of private well owners in Lubbock.

“Decades of use, storage, and disposal of [the foam] at the former Reese Air Force Base caused the widespread PFOA and PFOS contamination of groundwater in the surrounding community, including contaminating private wells serving residents in Lubbock,” the firm said in a statement.

A recent governmental assessment of the area showed affected residents were at an increased risk of having the substances in their blood.

Napoli Shkolnik PLLC is involved in other similar suits in the consolidated litigation, according to the Court and the firm’s website.

The class action suit alleges that the substances in the foam that contaminated groundwater has caused health effects and negatively impacted property values in the area.

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