The shares of the 3M company have skyrocketed this Friday on the stock market after the news that the company has reached an agreement in principle to avoid a series of lawsuits by paying “at least” 10,000 million dollars in compensation for water contamination with their perfluoroalkyls (PFAS), a group of chemical agents that do not break down and can accumulate over time, with harmful effects on human health. This gives an idea of the fear that there was that the company would be ordered to pay much higher compensation.
In parallel, The Chemours Company, DuPont de Nemours and Corteva have announced an agreement to pay another 1,185 million dollars (1,100 million euros) in compensation for the same reason: contaminating drinking water with harmful chemical substances.
As reported by Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the proposed deal, 3M has reached an interim settlement of at least $10 billion for water pollution lawsuits related to so-called “forever chemicals,” in what would be the largest ever. pact on PFAS in the United States and one of the largest mass liability agreements in history.
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Researchers have discovered that PFAS, an industrial product used since the 1950s in products ranging from computer chips and nonstick pans to cosmetics, never break down naturally. They remain in the water or in the body unless they are removed or destroyed by burning or new technologies. The US Environmental Protection Agency claims that PFASs are linked to developmental delays in children and an increased risk of cancer, though 3M denies this.
3M is the leading manufacturer of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and is considering a settlement to avoid its first federal trial over the waterproofing agent, which is scheduled to begin this Monday, June 5, in Charleston, South Carolina. In it, 3M is being sued for water contamination from the use of PFAS firefighting foam that has been used in extinguishing live fires and in training by firefighters in the City of Stuart, East Florida.
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The Charleston judge is overseeing the consolidation of some 4,000 PFAS-related lawsuits, but 3M is facing many more lawsuits. According to research firm CreditSights, its potential global liability for PFAS amounts to $143 billion in cleanup alone, though the number could turn out to be much less.
The deal, which would require approval from 3M’s board of directors, would cover only municipal providers of drinking water to consumers, the people said. It would not cover lawsuits by state attorneys general for river and stream pollution, prosecutions by the federal government, lawsuits for personal and property damage, or class action lawsuits.
3M’s net profit plunged 60% in the fourth quarter to $541 million, partly due to a one-time charge for perfluoroalkyl production abandonment (PFAS).
Those that have already announced an agreement are the companies The Chemours Company, DuPont de Nemours and Corteva. The settlement pays out $1.185 million to resolve all complaints related to PFAS in the drinking water of a defined class of public water systems that serve the vast majority of the United States population.
Chemours will contribute some 592 million dollars; DuPont, about 400 million, and Corteva, about 193 million, as reported by the companies in a statement. Following the signing of the definitive agreement, scheduled for the second quarter of 2023, it will be submitted for judicial approval in South Carolina. The shares of the three companies, especially those of Chemours, have also skyrocketed on the stock market.
Excluded from the agreement are water supply systems owned or operated by a State or the Government of the United States; Small systems that have not detected the presence of PFAS and are not currently required to monitor them under federal or state requirements; and North Carolina’s Lower Cape Fear River Water Supply Systems (included only upon request).
In the event that a settlement is not reached and approved, and the plaintiffs choose to pursue their claims in court, the companies will continue to pursue their legal defenses in pending litigation. “The companies deny the allegations in the underlying litigation and reserve all legal and factual defenses against such claims should they be litigated to completion,” the statement said.
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