Judge will hold a "Science Day" on June 6, 2025, to allow the parties to make educational presentations on the risk of thyroid and liver cancer from firefighting foam chemicals.

The U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal AFFF lawsuits, involving allegations that toxic chemicals in the firefighting foam caused firefighters and other individuals to develop various types of cancer, has asked lawyers involved in the litigation to file proposed schedules for the court to evaluate the risk of liver cancer and thyroid cancer.

AFFF (aqueous film-forming foam) has been used for decades by the U.S. military and local fire departments to combat fuel based fires. However, 3M Company, Tyco Fire Products, Chemguard, Inc. and other manufacturers involved in the sale of firefighting foam now face more than 8,000 lawsuits alleging that they failed to disclose serious health risks associated with exposure to toxic chemicals contained in the foam, as well as the risk of widespread water contamination.

Given common questions of fact and law presented in the claims brought throughout the federal court system, all AFFF lawsuits are currently centralized before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel in the District of South Carolina, for coordinated discovery and a series of early bellwether trials.

In 2023, Judge Gergel established a process to prepare a group of AFFF injury claims for early test trials, involving lawsuits over the development of kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease and ulcerative colitis. However, the Court indicates it is now ready to begin addressing general causation issues in lawsuits involving liver cancer and thyroid cancer as well.