3M reaches tentative $10.3 billion deal over US 'forever chemicals'
claims
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[June 23, 2023]
By Clark Mindock
(Reuters) -3M Co has reached a $10.3 billion settlement with a host of
U.S. public water systems to resolve water pollution claims tied to
"forever chemicals," the chemical company announced on Thursday.
The company said the settlement would provide the funds over a 13-year
period to cities, towns and other public water systems to test and treat
contamination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
3M, which is facing thousands of lawsuits over PFAS contamination, did
not admit liability, and said the money will help support remediation at
public water systems that detect PFAS "at any level."
"We have reached the largest drinking water settlement in American
history, which will be used to help filter PFAS from drinking water that
is served to the public," Scott Summy, a lead attorney for the water
systems suing 3M, said in a statement. "The result is that millions of
Americans will have healthier lives without PFAS in their drinking
water."
3M had been scheduled to face a test trial in South Carolina federal
court earlier this month in a lawsuit brought by Stuart, Florida. The
judge overseeing the case delayed the trial the morning it was set to
start.
Stuart claimed in its 2018 lawsuit that the company made or sold
firefighting foams containing PFAS that polluted local soil and
groundwater, and sought more than $100 million for filtration and
remediation. It was one of more than 4,000 lawsuits filed against 3M and
other chemical companies.
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![](../images/062323PIX/news_z44.jpg)
The 3M logo is seen at its global
headquarters in Maplewood, Minnesota, U.S. on March 4, 2020.
REUTERS/Nicholas Pfosi/File Photo
Dubbed "forever chemicals" as they do not easily break down in the
human body or environment, PFAS are used in a wide range of products
from non-stick cookware to cosmetics and have been linked to cancer,
hormonal dysfunction and environmental damage.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has called PFAS an “urgent
public health and environmental issue.”
The EPA has taken several steps in recent years to tighten
regulations for the chemicals, and in March announced the first-ever
national drinking water standards for six of the chemicals.
3M in December set a 2025 deadline to stop producing PFAS.
Three other major chemicals companies - Chemours Co, DuPont de
Nemours Inc and Corteva Inc announced earlier this month that they
had reached an agreement in principle for $1.19 billion to settle
claims they contaminated U.S. public water systems with PFAS.
3M still faces PFAS-related lawsuits filed by individuals with
personal injury and property damage claims, as well as by U.S.
states over damages to natural resources such as rivers and lakes
that were not part of the settlement.
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson and Clark Mindock in New York, Editing
by Alexia Garamfalvi, Chris Reese and Daniel Wallis)
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