Settlement could cover 120,000 people over nine years without admitting liability
St. Paul, Minnesota-based chemical manufacturer 3M announced Tuesday that it would pay up to $7.35 billion to resolve lawsuits by people who say PFAS exposure sickened them. The claims involve groundwater contaminated with chemicals used in firefighting foam and other consumer products.
The lawsuits concern groundwater contamination near military bases, airports and other locations where firefighting foam was used to extinguish fires. The chemicals are known collectively as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, and the settlement would spread payments over nine years to as many as 120,000 people who say they were harmed by exposure.
3M did not admit liability for the contamination under the agreement. Under the settlement, payouts will begin with $50 million this year, followed by yearly payments of more than $1 billion from 2028 through 2033.
3M could make additional payments if enough plaintiffs participate. If too few sign on, 3M has the option to cancel the settlement and continue fighting the lawsuit.
3M chairman William Brown called the settlement a “significant milestone” and said it substantially reduces uncertainty from the litigation.
Fred Thompson, an attorney with the Motley Rice law firm that helped negotiate the 3M settlement for the plaintiffs, called it welcome news for “the thousands of victims who have sought answers and accountability for nearly a decade.” He said in a news release that the plaintiffs urgently need help covering mounting medical bills and other costs.
PFAS do not degrade naturally in the environment. The chemicals have been linked to health problems including liver and immune system damage and some cancers. PFAS are also used in nonstick, water- and grease-resistant products, including clothing and cookware.
3M previously reached settlements in other PFAS-related lawsuits, including a $450 million agreement with the state of New Jersey to settle claims of natural resource contamination and a deal to pay more than $10 billion to many U.S. public drinking water systems.
Other manufacturers, including DuPont de Nemours Inc. and spinoffs Chemours Co. and Corteva Inc., have agreed to settlements totaling more than $1 billion to resolve PFAS claims.
Environmental activists said PFAS manufacturers knew about the chemicals’ health risks long before they became public. They noted that the same resistance to breakdown that makes the chemicals valuable in many uses also makes them hazardous to people.
The Environmental Protection Agency has set strict limits on PFAS in drinking water from public utilities and requires testing, but those rules do not apply to private wells.
A study that would help federal regulators understand which industries discharge PFAS in wastewater has been stalled for two years, awaiting review by the White House Office of Management and Budget.