agreement with plaintiffs
3M pays billions over contaminated drinking water
6/23/2023 7:53 am
Carpets, cosmetics, toilet paper – but also extinguishing foam: These products often contain so-called eternal chemicals that are difficult to decompose. They also seep into the groundwater. The US industrial giant 3M is now paying more than eleven billion euros for its processing.
Because of the contamination of drinking water with so-called eternal chemicals, the US industrial giant 3M has agreed to pay the equivalent of up to 11.4 billion euros to settle legal disputes with US water suppliers. According to stock market documents, the settlement has yet to be approved by a federal court. In return, the plaintiffs brought together in the class action lawsuit should refrain from lawsuits and further claims for damages.
The money – between 10.5 billion and 12.5 billion dollars – is to be paid out over a period of 13 years, between 2024 and 2036. It is intended to be used for the development of technologies for the treatment of water where it has tested positive for per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) in the past or in the future. The money can also be used for analyses.
At the beginning of June, three large US chemical companies agreed to pay a total of almost 1.2 billion US dollars for the contamination of drinking water sources with so-called eternal chemicals. 3M has already announced that it will phase out PFAS production by the end of 2025.
The group of per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) is commonly referred to as “forever chemicals” because these substances decompose extremely slowly. They are used in the manufacture of numerous industrial and consumer products, including carpets, waterproof clothing, cosmetics, shampoos, pizza boxes and toilet paper. However, the substances are harmful to health and can cause cancer and other health problems. However, the legal disputes in the USA revolved exclusively around the use of the substances in fire-fighting foam for extinguishing work on military premises and airfields. 3M produced the chemicals for decades, and these ended up in the drinking water in many places in the USA through the use of the foams.