PFAS Detection Test Thrown Out In Court – What It Teaches Us About Compliance Efforts

Last week, a California court ruled court ruled in the Bounthon et al. v. The Procter & Gamble Co. matter (case number 3:23-cv-00765, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California) that a PFAS detection test called a “total organic fluorine” (TOF) test was unreliable for legal purposes and therefore plaintiffs’ case had to be dismissed. Several articles were published indicating that a “gold standard” PFAS test had been thrown out by a court, with many of the news articles having a slant that the result was surprising. I disagree. But beyond the merits of whether or not the court ruling was a surprise, I also encourage companies undertaking their own due diligence efforts with respect to PFAS to consider the court’s ruling…