FRENCH ISLAND, Wis. — Town of Campbell homeowners, 48 of them, filed a class action lawsuit against dozens of chemical companies that manufactured and distributed fire-fighting foam. The suit asserts that the companies knew that the foam would contaminate the ground water and cause serious illness including cancer. Among the suit’s targets: 3M, Dupont and Tyco. The claim is that the companies knew for decades about the dangers of PFAS chemical compounds they sold to the nearby LaCrosse airport, which kept it in hand for runway crashes for decades and used it for training exercises. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has found 500 contaminated wells on French Island near the airport. In some cases, the contamination has rendered groundwater in unsafe for drinking, cooking and brushing your teeth. In March, the City of La Crosse, which operates the airport, filed suit against the same companies.
