$58 billion day of reckoning looms for 3M over toxic ‘forever chemicals’.
Dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment and stay for years in the human bloodstream, PFAS was formerly the key ingredient in 3M’s popular fabric protector Scotchgard because of its unique ability to repel grease, oil and water.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for economic loss, damage to the environment, personal injury and medical monitoring over the use of PFAS in aqueous film-forming foams at airports, military bases, fire stations and industrial sites.Since it was first filed in 2018 the case has ballooned to include more than 3300 claimants, making it the largest PFAS litigation on foot in the United States.
Two of the most notorious in the family of chemicals – PFOS and PFOA – were used in the firefighting foam but were phased out by 3M in the early 2000s. The report’s author Holly Froum found remediation costs were potentially worth up to $35 billion payable over 30 years, and personal injury, medical monitoring and property damage claims were worth as much as $5 billion.
Douglas said Stuart was selected as a “bellwether” case because it was considered representative of many of the other cases pending in the litigation. “We intend to reveal for the first time in open court the entire story of 3M’s role in causing likely the worst environmental disaster in the history of mankind.”
“Somewhere the truth may lie and we’ve got to figure out what is it ... unemotionally, rigorously, scientifically looking at the data.”
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