On 16 September 2026 U.S. District Judge Alvin Thompson in Hartford granted organizational standing to 13 firefighter‑union organisations and 12 individual firefighters, clearing the way for a class‑action lawsuit that targets more than 20 manufacturers for allegedly embedding per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in turnout gear.
Legal backdrop
The Guardian reported that the judge said the unions had “organizational” standing to seek damages and medical monitoring, even for firefighters who show “no outward symptoms of disease.” The ruling follows a complaint filed in June 2024 that alleges the gear leached PFAS through skin absorption, ingestion and inhalation, raising cancer risk for the first responders who wear it daily.
According to the same source, the complaint lists 3M, DuPont, Chemours, Corteva and Honeywell among the defendants. The judge noted that plaintiffs had sufficiently alleged that 3M – described as one of “the largest manufacturers of PFAS” – owed a duty to warn about the chemicals and may have been negligent.
Companies in the cross‑hairs
All three firms named in the packet are major players in occupational safety and chemicals. 3M, headquartered in Maplewood, U.S., reported $12.53 billion in revenue for the six‑month period ending 30 June 2026, up from $11.94 billion in the prior comparable period (the packet does not provide the prior figure, so the change cannot be quantified). Its net income for the same period was $1.586 billion.
DuPont de Nemours, Inc., listed on the NYSE under ticker DD, posted a net income of $304 million for the six months to 30 June 2026. The packet supplies a 2020 revenue figure of $20.397 billion for reference, but no 2026 revenue is given.
Honeywell International Inc., based in Charlotte, U.S., recorded net income of $6.503 billion for the six‑month period ending 30 June 2026, with revenue data only available for 2012 ($18.742 billion).
| Company | Revenue (USD) | Net income (USD) | Total assets (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3M | 12,530,000,000 | 1,586,000,000 | 34,924,000,000 |
| DuPont | 20,397,000,000 (2020) | 304,000,000 | 21,061,000,000 |
| Honeywell | 18,742,000,000 (2012) | 6,503,000,000 | 77,344,000,000 |
| Source: company filings referenced in the research packet. | |||
What the ruling means for firefighters
With organizational standing secured, the unions can now pursue collective damages and seek a court‑ordered medical‑monitoring program for all members, not just the 12 individuals who filed the original complaint. The Guardian notes that the plaintiffs argue the PFAS exposure occurs through the very gear designed to protect them from heat and flames.
The lawsuit’s next steps will involve discovery – the process by which plaintiffs will request internal documents from the defendants about the composition of Scotchlite reflective material (3M), Kevlar (DuPont) and the turnout gear manufactured by Honeywell. The outcome could set precedent for how occupational‑safety equipment is regulated for chemical safety.
Open questions
- The filing does not disclose the exact number of firefighters who may ultimately be covered by a class settlement.
- Neither the Guardian article nor the packet provides the court’s timeline for a trial or potential settlement negotiations.
- Details on the roles of Chemours and Corteva – spin‑offs of DuPont’s legacy PFAS business – remain sparse in the available sources.
What is clear from the filing is that the legal battle is now in earnest, and the companies named will need to defend their product‑safety practices while navigating the broader public‑health scrutiny of PFAS chemicals.