Washington, United States | AFP | Muser NewsDesk
US conglomerate 3M has committed $7.35 billion to settle injury claims linked to ‘forever chemicals‘ in firefighting foam it produced, the firm announced Tuesday.
The chemicals, also known as PFAS, have been linked to serious illnesses including cancer and are known as forever chemicals because they persist in the environment after serving their intended purpose.
The settlement addresses “approximately 99 percent” of claims in a suit filed before a South Carolina court involving over 100,000 plaintiffs, 3M said.
The firm will pay out over nine years, starting with $50 million in 2026, with nothing to be paid next year, and 20 percent of payments due in the final two years, it added.
“This settlement is a significant milestone for 3M and substantially reduces litigation uncertainty,” the firm’s chairman and CEO William Brown said in a statement.
The deal follows another settlement, approved by a US court in 2024, for 3M to pay up to $12.5 billion. Those funds were to go to public water utilities for PFAS remediation and testing.
3M announced it would stop making PFAS by the end of 2025, and says it has met that goal and is investing in treatment technologies for sites where it manufactured the chemicals.
But it added that the agreement announced Tuesday “is not an admission of liability” and it was prepared to defend itself in litigation “if certain agreed settlement terms are not fulfilled.”
3M has faced legal action over PFAS pollution in several countries, with Australia in May announcing a $1.43 billion suit over military base contamination linked to firefighting foam.
Plaintiffs in Belgium are also seeking around $35 million in damages over contamination they say came from a 3M plant in Zwijndrecht.
Article Source:
Press Release/Material by Agence France-Presse
Featured image credit: jcomp | Magnific
