(New York) The American group 3M has agreed to pay up to 12.5 billion dollars to put an end to the lawsuits brought in the United States by several public drinking water distribution networks for contamination by PFAS, components chemicals called “eternal pollutants”.
The agreement, which must still be validated by a judge, provides for the payment of sums over 13 years, between 2024 and 2036, according to a stock exchange document.
The money is to be used to fund water treatment technologies where they have tested positive for PFAS, either in the past or in the future. It will also be used to pay for future analyses.
This is an “important step” for 3M, said in a press release its CEO, Mike Roman. The group has already pledged to cease all manufacture of PFAS by the end of 2025 and has invested heavily in water filtration technologies.
PFAS are per and polyfluoroalkylated substances massively present in everyday life – packaging, cosmetics, electronics. They accumulate over time in the air, soil, river water, food and even the human body, and are very little degradable, hence their nickname “eternal” pollutants.
In the case of 3M, it is the water-based foam (AFFF), used by firefighters to put out fires before flowing into the ground, which is particularly singled out.
“This agreement sends a clear message that companies like 3M must take responsibility for the consequences of the chemicals they manufacture,” said Paul Napoli, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, in a press release.
In it, he claims that 3M was the only company to manufacture AFFF containing perfluoroctane sulfonic acid, or PFOS, a “particularly insidious” type of PFAS that studies have linked to an increased risk of cancer and other health problems. serious health”.
3M had announced in 2000 that the group was going to gradually cease the manufacture of PFOS, just like the manufacture of perfluoro octanoic acid PFOA.
The group ensures that it works to clean up these substances on the sites where they were manufactured or eliminated.
Thanks to the agreement, “millions of Americans will have a healthier life without PFAS in their drinking water,” said Scott Summy, another attorney representing the plaintiffs.
The money will also relieve public water distribution networks from having to bear the financial burden of eliminating these toxic products.
The chemical groups DuPont, Chemours and Corteva also signed agreements in early June to settle the PFAS-related lawsuits against them, but for a much lower amount of $1.18 billion.
3M’s total payout, which is expected to fluctuate between $10.5 billion and $12.5 billion, will depend on whether PFAS tests are negative.
The agreement also includes the idea “that 3M does not admit any liability or wrongdoing.”
The group recorded for the occasion a charge of 10.3 billion dollars in its accounts.