An agreement worth 7.35 billion dollars: the American manufacturer 3M undertakes to compensate more than 100,000 plaintiffs victims of contamination with PFAS, the “eternal pollutants”

The American industrial conglomerate 3M has committed to paying $7.35 billion, over a period of 9 years, to compensate for personal injuries linked to perfluorinated chemical molecules (PFAS, also called "eternal pollutants") present in the firefighting foam it manufactured, it announced Tuesday, October 3. The agreement covers "approximately 99%" of claims, according to 3M, in a suit filed in a South Carolina court involving more than 100,000 plaintiffs victims of alleged contamination in the United States.

In detail, this agreement provides for a first payment of $50 million in 2026 and none in 2027. The industrialist will then spread the rest until the end of the agreement, with a payment of 20% of the envelope during the last two years, in 2033 and 2034. This agreement follows a precedent which had been approved by an American court in 2024 and provided that 3M would pay up to $12.5 billion.

These funds were to be allocated to water utilities for PFAS-related remediation and testing. Prosecutions in Australia and complaints in Belgium In this case, it was aqueous film foam (AFFF), used by firefighters to extinguish fires, which was particularly singled out. It is one of the products containing the most per- and polyfluoroalkyls, substances also very present in everyday life, whether in packaging, cosmetic or electronic products, but also kitchen utensils (because they resist heat).

They accumulate over time in the air, soil, river water, food and even in the human body and are very poorly degradable, hence their nickname "eternal pollutants". According to the group's management, Tuesday's agreement "does not constitute an acknowledgment of liability" from 3M, which says it is ready to defend itself in court. Conversely, Michael London, one of the plaintiffs' lead lawyers, praised a "great result", allowing tens of thousands of people suffering from cancers and serious illnesses to finally obtain financial compensation.

3M has been sued for PFAS pollution in several countries. Australia announced $1.43 billion in lawsuits in May related to contamination of military bases attributed to firefighting foams. Plaintiffs in Belgium are also seeking approximately $35 million in damages for contamination they attribute to a 3M factory located in Zwijndrecht.

The group had announced that it would stop producing PFAS by the end of 2025. It now indicates that it has achieved this objective and is investing in treatment technologies for the sites where it manufactured these chemicals.

Machine-translated from French