Heroes Not Zombies

I read this recently –

Residents of Jersey have been recommended bloodletting to reduce high concentrations of “forever chemicals” in their blood after tests showed some islanders have levels that can lead to health problems.

I thought, “What? Bloodletting? Good job we didn’t get rid of all the leeches!” Then I read a bit more and discovered the leeches involved in this story aren’t the kind that suck your blood.

Private drinking water supplies in Jersey were polluted by the use of firefighting foams containing PFAS at the island’s airport, which were manufactured by the US multinational 3M.

So, the proposed solution from the Jersey government was to offer repeated blood letting to reduce the levels in residents’ bodies. It’s going to cost several thousand pounds a year to do this. Will the company responsible for the pollution pay? Well, it turns out that back in 2005, 3M secured an agreement with the States Assembly (after a behind-closed-doors debate), resulting in 3M giving the government of the day £2.6m, which went towards cleaning up the contaminated training ground and building a new rig on the site. In exchange for the money, the government agreed to “forever release, acquit, discharge, and covenant not to sue 3M or any 3M entity in relation to any and all Airport claims.”

What?

The details of the agreement are pretty shocking, the government agreed to –

“not take any action or other steps […] to procure, permit, promote, suggest, support or induce any company or other persons to make any claim or bring any proceedings against 3M or any 3M entities in relation to the supply to Jersey Airport and/or Jersey Airport’s Fire Service of any Firefighting Foam, the environmental, health, or safety effects of any Firefighting Foam or any substances in Firefighting Foam, or the presence or possible presence of any Firefighting Foam or any substances in Firefighting Foam in surface water, groundwater, or public water supply at or in the vicinity of Jersey Airport or Jersey Airport Fireground. They and all or any of their Government Committees shall use their reasonable best endeavours to provide information to 3M or any 3M Entity that might assist them in defending claims made or proceedings brought by any third party or parties in Jersey relating to the supply to Jersey Airport and/or Jersey Airport’s Fire Service of any Firefighting, the environmental, health, or safety effects of any Firefighting Foam in surface water, groundwater, or public water supply at or in the vicinity of Jersey Airport or Jersey Airport Fireground save that upon providing Information to 3M or any 3M Entity the States of Jersey and all or any of their Government Committees can at their entire discretion provide the same information to the other party or parties to the claim or proceeding. For the avoidance of doubt, this obligation to use reasonable best endeavours to provide information also means ensuring that the personnel and agents of the States of Jersey and their Government Committees with information in their possession make themselves available to 3M or 3M Entity, save that in the case of individuals in their possession who are not employees of the States of Jersey, the States of Jersey may discharge this obligation by using their reasonable best endeavours to encourage such individuals to make themselves available.”

This seems an example of how wealthy individuals and corporations can use their wealth as power – to secure protection against criminal or civic suits, and to never have to pay for the pollution and/or harms they cause.

Hardly a day goes by without my seeing some story or other which involves a “Non disclosure agreement”, or some other such procedure which involves money paid to avoid Public scrutiny and responsibility, and, in many cases, to avoid being held to account for harmful or careless behaviour. Corporations and wealthy individuals are able to buy themselves a variety of “justice” which is never available to ordinary citizens.

It’s time to reform corporate, and contract, law to stop these individuals from escaping their responsibilities, and to hold them to account in the exact same way that a non-wealthy citizen would be held to account. How is it just or fair to allow the rich, whether individuals, companies or institutions, to buy themselves a different variety of justice?