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A Pennsylvania judge this week heard oral arguments in a case brought by a man who claims PFAS — known as “forever chemicals” — and other toxic chemicals from Chevron’s fracking wells formerly on his property made him and his sons sick.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a method oil and gas companies use to extract natural gas and oil from deep rock formations by forcing water, sand and a mix of chemicals into horizontally drilled wells. The process causes the rock to crack and release natural gas or oil.
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have been used in hydraulic fracturing and other types of oil and gas wells across the U.S. for at least a decade.
Pennsylvania is known to have “one of the most diverse energy portfolios in the United States” and in 2021, was the leading gas-producing state.
In his lawsuit, Bryan Latkanich, a father of three and resident of Washington County, Pennsylvania — “one of the state’s most heavily fracked regions” — alleges fracking wells installed on his property contaminated his family’s private well with PFAS and other toxic chemicals.
Latkanich and his son, Ryan, have experienced health problems — including stomach problems, asthma attacks, rashes and eye irritation — since the wells were installed on his property more than a decade ago. Latkanich also was hospitalized multiple times for kidney issues.
The defendants include Chevron Corporation, its subsidiary Chevron USA and “the Pittsburgh-based EQT Corporation, which purchased the Chevron leases two years ago.”
In Tuesday’s hearing, Washington County Civil Judge Michael J. Lucas heard arguments from the case’s defendants on their objections to Latkanich’s complaint, and arguments from Latkanich’s lawyer, Lisa Johnson, who presented responses to the defendants’ objections.
During the hearing, activists outside the courthouse rallied to support the Latkanich family.
Judge Lucas granted Johnson 60 days of jurisdictional discovery to seek documents that could tie Chevron’s parent company to the fracking operation.
The judge, at a date yet unknown, will issue an order on the defendants’ preliminary objections.
It is possible the judge may overrule the defendants’ objections or sustain some of them — “which would require us to potentially do more drafting and [provide] more specificity around a couple of the items,” Johnson said — but the case will certainly move forward.
She said, “This case is not going to be disposed of at this point. We have too much evidence.”
Latkanich said he is glad the case is moving forward. “I can’t wait to close this chapter of my life. It’s been a nightmare,” he told The Defender.
He said he is tired of buying bottled water for his family to drink since their water is dangerously contaminated, and hopes his lawsuit will result in getting him a new farm since he says his current farm and orchard have been ruined by Chevron and EQT’s fracking wells.
He also hopes to obtain medical monitoring and ongoing toxicology reporting for himself and his sons.
Latkanich told CBS News he also hopes his case will serve to “protect the environment and other people going through this.”
Johnson — who said she was “humbled and honored” to be representing the Latkanich family — said she was hopeful about their case.
“It’s up to attorneys — the judiciary — to hold polluters accountable,” she said, adding that in its grand jury report on fracking, Pennsylvania’s Office of the Attorney General documented the failure of the executive and legislative branches in addressing the health concerns of residents who live close to fracking operations and/or who drink water contaminated by such facilities.
‘I look at my son … he has burns and blisters on him’
According to Latkanich, since the fracking wells were installed on his property his water smells strange and tastes bad — and his youngest son Ryan, now 13, has emerged from the bathtub or shower with sores on his skin.
Latkanich told The Defender this first happened in 2013 when Ryan was 3 years old. “His mother was giving a bath upstairs and she started screaming bloody murder,” he said. “I look at my son. It looks like he has burns and blisters on him.”
Latkanich put his hand in the bathwater. “It was so slippery,” he said.
Ryan got asthma at age 8, Latkanich said, and his cholesterol was 403 mg/dL, noting that a total cholesterol level above 200 mg/dL is considered high for children and teens.
Latkanich said he initially did not know about PFAS but later learned how the chemicals can act as endocrine disruptors and alter cholesterol levels.
“I’m wondering what this stuff does to your joints and your heart, and how it affects everything else I’m feeling,” Latkanich told Environmental Health News. “My kidneys are already shot. I just want these people to stop. They gotta stop poisoning people.”
Ryan told The Defender he wants to spread the word about how much toxic chemicals like PFAS can affect people — especially kids.
“Everyone that lives by fracking, of any age,” he said, “should be able to have toxicology testing done that is state-paid or company-paid, [meaning] paid by the company doing the fracking.”
On June 22, Ryan sent a letter to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro formally requesting Shapiro make such testing available. Ryan wrote:
“Being a victim myself, toxicology reports have proven that I have been exposed to these chemicals and they are in my body. I fear that other kids are exposed to these chemicals that I have been exposed to.”
Both Ryan and Bryan’s toxicology reports showed the son and father had very high levels of numerous toxic chemicals.
Chevron and EQT’s lawyer, Kathy Condo, told Judge Lucas that hydraulic fracturing is not inherently dangerous and that an investigation by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) did not establish a link between the fracking on Latkanich’s property and his health problems.
According to Environmental Health News, the DEP tested his water more than once — but never looked for PFAS — and concluded that the fracking wells weren’t to blame for any contamination.
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh who study PFAS, including Carla Ng, Ph.D., tested water samples from multiple taps at Latkanich’s home and found seven different kinds of PFAS:
- PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)
- PFOS (Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid)
- PFHpA (Perfluoroheptanoic acid)
- PFNA (Perfluorononanoic acid)
- PFDA (Perfluorodecanoic acid)
- PFDS (Perfluorodecanesulfonic acid)
- PFHxS (Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid)
The levels of PFOA and PFOS detected in Latkanich’s water were 280 times higher and 379 times higher, respectively, than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) health advisory limits for the chemicals.
“These health advisory limits are basically saying that these compounds are a health concern even at very low levels,” Ng said. “But at the same time, you’d be hard pressed to find water in the United States that doesn’t exceed those thresholds.”
‘It is shocking what the DEP has done’
Commenting on the actions of the DEP in response to Latkanich’s ongoing complaints, Johnson said he has been “abandoned and mistreated” by the agency.
She and Latkanich filed a separate action against the DEP in front of the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board for its failings.
“So there are two parallel cases going on right now,” she explained. There’s the main case against Chevron and EQT, as well as the case against DEP.
Latkanich’s case against the DEP alleges the agency made its determination about Latkanich’s water “after it omitted critical information in the Department’s possession as well information provided by Appellant [Latkanich] while at the same time failing to undertake a complete analysis of the entire set of facts at the time the determination was written.”
The DEP advised Latkanich that the PFAS in his water supply “could” have been caused by the fact Chevron used “freshwater” sources for fracking, including water from local rivers, that are contaminated with PFAS but DEP declined to make that finding, Johnson said.
The suit also alleges the DEP violated numerous environmental laws, including the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act.
Drilling companies typically drill through radioactive rock, such as radium and uranium, to extract natural gas and oil, so fracking also generates radioactive waste — an issue the DEP historically has tried to underplay, Johnson said.
Latkanich’s case against the DEP points out that the agency hired PermaFix, a company with a history of violations in the state and environmental violations with the EPA, to undertake a study of the environmental and public health impacts of radiation.
A PermaFix subsidiary, Safety & Ecology Corp., was reported to the U.S. Department of Energy in the past for retaliating against a worker for coming forward with nuclear safety concerns, Johnson said.
The DEP’s Bureau of Radiation contracted with Safety & Ecology in 2010 for “a consultant to provide health physics technical assistance on an as-needed basis” and received taxpayer dollars in the amount of $869,343.46 through 2014.
“It is shocking what the DEP has done,” Johnson added.
Johnson also pointed out that individuals like Latkanich face extreme challenges in seeking legal recourse due to the silencing tactics used by the oil and gas industry.
She knew of at least three attorneys in Pennsylvania who were sanctioned on behalf of the oil industry. “I myself have been sanctioned,” she added. “This work is not for the faint of heart.”
