3M To Shell Out $10.3 Billion Over Contaminated Drinking Water

Minnesota-based multinational 3M agreed to pay $10.3 billion to U.S. communities that accused the company of polluting their drinking water with “forever chemicals.”

Pollutants including perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl, or PFAs, are linked to a wide range of health issues, including cancer. Research also connects them to developmental issues in children, decreased fertility, and hormone disruption.

The company emphasized that the payout does not represent an “admission of liability.”

3M faced lawsuits by some 4,000 states and municipalities, and the $10.3 billion in funding must be approved by the court. It said that if this does not happen, it will “continue to defend itself in the litigation.” 

Plaintiffs report detecting PFAs in drinking water over a 13-year period, and they argued that the expenses for diseases reached over $5.5 billion each year. They added “social costs of…as much as $62.6 billion.” 

The chemicals originated in products such as firefighting foam and other consumer wares, according to a Thursday statement by 3M. 

The compounds earned the name “forever chemicals” due to not degrading naturally in the environment. These FFAs are found in common products such as cookware and clothing and are used for nonstick water- and grease-resistant products.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed strict limits on two common chemical types, PFOA and PFOS, and further sought to restrict four others in March. 

The settlement plan puts responsibility for monitoring drinking water for these compounds on water providers. These systems are conducting tests mandated by the EPA over the next three years. 

Scott Summy, one of the lead attorneys for the entities suing 3M, said the settlement would be paid out over 13 years and could total $12.5 billion. The exact figure will depend in part on how many public water systems detect PFAs.

Summy admitted that no one knows the eventual cost for eradicating these chemicals from U.S. water systems. He also noted that the total cost could well exceed the settlement figure.

3M said it assisted the U.S. Navy in developing foam products containing PFAs in the 1960s. It called them “important and life-saving” tools used to fight “dangerous fires, like those caused by jet fuel.”