3M Reaches $10.3 Billion Settlement Over Contamination of Water Systems (npr.org) 11
3M will pay $10.3 billion to settle lawsuits over contamination of drinking water with PFAS, a class of chemicals known as "forever chemicals" that have been linked to health problems. NPR reports: The deal would compensate water providers for pollution with per- and polyfluorinated substances, known collectively as PFAS -- a broad class of chemicals used in nonstick, water- and grease-resistant products such as clothing and cookware. Described as "forever chemicals" because they don't degrade naturally in the environment, PFAS 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 around the nation. 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 the chemicals. The agreement would settle a case that was scheduled for trial earlier this month involving a claim by Stuart, Florida, one of about 300 communities that have filed similar suits against companies that produced firefighting foam or the PFAS it contained.
3M chairman Mike Roman said the deal was "an important step forward" that builds on the company's decision in 2020 to phase out PFOA and PFOS and its investments in "state-of-the-art water filtration technology in our chemical manufacturing operations." The company, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, will halt all PFAS production by the end of 2025, he said. The settlement will be paid over 13 years and could reach as high as $12.5 billion, depending on how many public water systems detect PFAS during testing that EPA has required in the next three years, said Dallas-based attorney Scott Summy, one of the lead attorneys for those suing 3M and other manufacturers. The payment will help cover costs of filtering PFAS from systems where it's been detected and testing others, he said.
The compounds have been detected at varying levels in drinking water around the nation. 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 the chemicals. The agreement would settle a case that was scheduled for trial earlier this month involving a claim by Stuart, Florida, one of about 300 communities that have filed similar suits against companies that produced firefighting foam or the PFAS it contained.
3M chairman Mike Roman said the deal was "an important step forward" that builds on the company's decision in 2020 to phase out PFOA and PFOS and its investments in "state-of-the-art water filtration technology in our chemical manufacturing operations." The company, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, will halt all PFAS production by the end of 2025, he said. The settlement will be paid over 13 years and could reach as high as $12.5 billion, depending on how many public water systems detect PFAS during testing that EPA has required in the next three years, said Dallas-based attorney Scott Summy, one of the lead attorneys for those suing 3M and other manufacturers. The payment will help cover costs of filtering PFAS from systems where it's been detected and testing others, he said.
utter rubbish (Score:5, Interesting)
so they knew that its damaging the environment and their employee's but are allowed to continue...
talk about too big to fail...
mining
Re: (Score:2)
And the true cost of PFAS may well turn out to be in the trillions, so this is a super duper bargain for them as usual. Frankly $12B doesn't even sound like a lot any more... and it isn't in this case
Re: (Score:2)
Well, it is still a lot of money, and can act as a deterrent to any company using or considering the use of PFAS, that there is great risk to using them improperly. The fees will, like all fees, be passed onto consumers in higher prices. But at least those prices will better reflect the responsible cost.
As a side topic, I am not sure how, once released into the environment, any amount of money can provide effective filtration of, for example, drinking water, right now. But technology does seem to find so
Re:utter rubbish (Score:5, Insightful)
It's less than $1 billion/year and 3M makes a net profit of $14-15 billion per year.
It's a lot of money to you. To 3M, it's a token penalty that they will use to reduce their corporate taxes.
Re: (Score:2)
And the true cost of PFAS may well turn out to be in the trillions
The true cost may be trillions, but the benefits have definitely been trillions. Like it or not they are a class of chemicals that we are about as dependent on as oil for our modern civilisation. This is why a phaseout is such an issue, it's not like CFCs where there are easily manufactured and suitable alternatives.
This business of punishing the makers of basic mat (Score:1)
how to remove (Score:4, Informative)
I see a lot a talk about the problem and very little about how to solve it.
https://www.epa.gov/research-s... [epa.gov]
https://cyclopure.com/dexsorb/ [cyclopure.com]
Encouraging lawlessness (Score:1)
PTFE makes the world go around (Score:2)
If you look at how Chemours gets away with dumping and how far regulators bend over backwards to keep GenX/PTFE flowing it's pretty clear they can get away with literal murder.
Great! Now even more commercials (Score:1)