Chemical maker 3M Co. will pay at least $10.3 million to settle lawsuits over the contamination of many public drinking water systems in the United States with potentially harmful compounds used in fire-fighting foam and a number of consumer products, the company said. Thursday.
The settlement would compensate water providers for contamination with perfluorinated and polyfluorinated substances, collectively known as PFAS, a broad class of chemicals used in nonstick, waterproof, and greaseproof products such as clothing and cookware.
Described as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down naturally in the environment, PFASs have been linked to a variety of health problems, including liver and immune system damage and some cancers.
The compounds have been detected at varying levels in drinking water across the country. The Environmental Protection Agency in March proposed strict limits on two common types, PFOA and PFOS, and said it wanted to regulate four others. Water providers would be responsible for monitoring their systems for chemicals.
The settlement would resolve a case that was scheduled for trial earlier this month involving a claim from Stuart, Florida, one of about 300 communities that have filed similar lawsuits against companies that produce fire fighting foam or the PFAS it contains.
3M President Mike Roman said the agreement was “a major step forward” building on the company’s decision in 2020 to phase out PFOA and PFOS and its investments in “state-of-the-art water filtration technology.” generation at our chemical manufacturing operations. The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company will halt all PFAS production by the end of 2025, he said.
The settlement will be paid over 13 years and could be as much as $12.5 million, depending on how many public water systems detect PFAS during tests the EPA has required over the next three years, said Dallas-based attorney Scott Summy, one of lead lawyers for those suing 3M and other manufacturers.
The payment will help cover the costs of filtering PFAS from systems where it has been detected and testing others, he explained.
“The result is that millions of Americans will have healthier lives without PFAS in their drinking water,” added Summy.
Earlier this month, three other companies, DuPont de Nemours Inc. and spin-offs Chemours Co. and Corteva Inc., reached a $1.18 million settlement to resolve PFAS complaints from some 300 drinking water providers. Several states, airports, fire training centers, and private well owners have also filed lawsuits.
The cases are pending in the US District Court in Charleston, South Carolina, where Judge Richard Gergel is overseeing thousands of complaints alleging PFAS damages. Trial of a complaint by the city of Stuart, Florida, was scheduled to begin this month but was delayed to allow time for additional settlement negotiations.
The US Supreme Court on Thursday limited regulators’ ability to enforce the nation’s top air pollution law, aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. President Joe Biden called the court’s move “devastating” in the fight against climate change.
Most of the lawsuits stemmed from fire training exercises at airports, military bases and other sites in the US that repeatedly used foams mixed with high concentrations of PFAS, Summy said.
The 3M deal is subject to court approval, he said.
3M’s website says the company helped the US Navy develop foams containing PFAS chemicals in the 1960s.
“This was an important tool that saved lives and helped fight dangerous fires, such as those caused by jet fuel,” the company alleges.
3M said its participation in the settlement “is not an admission of liability” and said that if it were rejected in court, “3M is prepared to continue to defend itself.”
The cost of cleaning up PFAS from US water systems could eventually be much higher than the amounts agreed to in the agreements, Summy acknowledged.
“I’m not sure anyone knows what that final number will be,” he said. “But I do think this will put a big dent in that cost…and there’s no need to litigate for the next decade or more.”
