3M has agreed to pay up to $12.5 Billion settling hundreds of lawsuits filed by cities saying their drinking water was contaminated with “forever chemicals” the company made for decades. The suits involved PFAS chemical firefighting foam that seeped into the ground water of various cities and towns across the country. PFAS are perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. These comprise thousands of chemicals that were first produced in the 1940s and used for decades in nonstick cookware, waterproof jackets and firefighting foam.
Since they break down slowly and have been found in the environment as well as the blood of people and animals around the world, the EPA moved to eliminate the use of two forms of PFAS more than a decade ago and it now plans to limit those chemicals in public drinking water, among other regulatory actions. Exposure to high levels of certain PFAS can increased risk of kidney and testicular cancers, increased cholesterol levels and risk of obesity, among other things.
Jeffrey Newman is a whistleblower lawyer handling healthcare claims under the False Claims Act (FCA). He can be reached at Jeff@JeffNewmanLaw.com or 617-823-3217.
