3M gives in to $10.3bln settlement over water contamination lawsuit

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
23 Jun 2023 14:37

The US firm was due to appear before a judge on Monday but was granted a delay to try and reach a settlement with plaintiffs.

The exterior of the Dutch head office of international technology company 3M in Delft, Netherlands. (AFP)

American multinational conglomerate 3M settled a $10.3 billion mass lawsuit filed by US cities and towns impacted by contaminated water due to chemicals released from a production facility belonging to the company.

The "forever chemicals" settlement in the per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) case, that polluted the region's drinking water, will be paid over 13 years.

Pollutants known as "forever chemicals," do not degrade in the environment, accumulate in the body, and may be toxic.

3M did not admit liability in the case that is yet to be approved by the country but pledged to stop using "forever chemicals" by the end of 2025 after several probes and thousands of lawsuits targeted the firm, including that from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

"If the agreement is not approved by the court or certain agreed terms are not fulfilled, 3M is prepared to continue to defend itself in the litigation," the company said in a statement.

The firm added that it will provide "funding for public water suppliers (PWS) nationwide that have detected PFAS in drinking water, as well as for eligible PWS that may detect PFAS at any level in the future."

The company was due to face trial next Monday regarding the lawsuit, but a judge approved a request to delay as disputing parties try to settle.

Mike Roman, Chairman and CEO of 3M, called the agreement "an important step forward" that puts forward the firm's commitment to "exit all PFAS manufacturing."

Earlier this month, chemical producers Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva settled a 1.19 billion dollar lawsuit over contamination claims across the United States.

3M's transatlantic PFAS

In February, a study conducted across the EU and the UK and published by The Guardian revealed that "forever chemicals" have been found in high concentrations at thousands of sites across the researched geography.

The map shows that Belgium has the highest levels of pollution, with PFAS concentrations in groundwater reaching 73m ng/l near 3M's manufacturing site in Zwijndrecht, Flanders.

Residents within 15 kilometers of the site have been advised not to eat any eggs laid in their gardens and to avoid eating homegrown vegetables, the report said. Meanwhile, 70,000 people living within a 5-kilometer radius of the plant have been offered a PFAS blood test.

3M said it will clean up the site and has "signed an agreement with the Flemish region... for an investment of €571 million" (£503 million). It has also announced plans to exit PFAS manufacturing "and work to discontinue the use of PFAS across its product portfolio by the end of 2025".

According to Rita Loch-Caruso, a toxicology professor at the University of Michigan, drinking water limits for PFAS are continuing to be reduced in response to growing evidence about their health effects. "We're finding health effects at increasingly low concentrations - in the single digits," she explained.