Court approves settlement over Vermont water contamination

A court has approved a settlement Vermont reached with a company over the contamination of private water wells with a suspected carcinogen.

Vermont Public Radio reports an agreement approved Monday has Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics paying $20 million to extend municipal water lines to about 200 homes in the Bennington area. The state's lawsuit was dropped as part of the deal.

The lawsuit was filed after the state found private wells were contaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA. Saint-Gobain's now-closed factory in North Bennington used the chemical.

PFOA has been linked to certain kinds of cancer and thyroid disease. It was used in coatings such as Teflon and other consumer products.

The settlement covers only the western part of the contaminated area.

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Information from: WVPS-FM, http://www.vpr.net