The permanent compounds lurking in ordinary people’s blood—and the truth concealed for decades by chemical giants

Strictly from a chemical structural perspective, Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE) can also be classified under PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. However, its properties differ markedly from those of PFOA, PFOS, and other PFAS compounds currently drawing public health concern. Thus, contemporary discussions about PFAS focus specifically on PFAS molecules posing potential health risks—such as PFOA—while explicitly excluding Teflon. A major hazard of PFOA and PFOS lies in their extreme environmental and biological persistence: they accumulate in living organisms. In contrast, Teflon itself is non-toxic when stable; it only releases toxic fluorocarbon gases upon thermal decomposition at high temperatures. In everyday use—most commonly in non-stick cookware—the cooking temperatures encountered are almost never high enough to reach Teflon’s degradation threshold of 260°C. Teflon became entangled in PFAS health-risk discourse primarily because, starting in 1951, DuPont purchased PFOA from 3M to use as an aid in Teflon production. 3M itself had begun manufacturing PFOA in 1947. DuPont employed PFOA as a surfactant in the emulsion polymerization process used to produce Teflon; residual PFOA in the final Teflon product is negligible, and any trace amounts remaining are further eliminated during the high-temperature sintering (“baking”) step in non-stick pan manufacturing. Teflon’s association with PFOA stems partly from occupational exposure of DuPont workers to PFOA during production—but more significantly, from DuPont’s large-scale discharge of PFOA into the environment. After 3M decided in 2000 to phase out PFOS and PFOA production, DuPont built its own PFOA manufacturing plant in North Carolina in 2002 to sustain Teflon production [4]. Both PFOS and PFOA contain eight carbon atoms, leading DuPont internally to refer to PFOA as “C8.” In 2015, DuPont spun off its specialty chemicals business—including Teflon—into a new independent company named Chemours. Chemours inherited the PFAS-related litigation liabilities; consequently, most major PFAS settlement payouts since 2015 have been borne primarily by Chemours. U.S. attorney Robert Bilott began investigating and litigating against DuPont’s PFOA discharges in 1999. During trial proceedings, DuPont was compelled to disclose vast troves of internal documents revealing that both 3M and DuPont had long harbored serious safety concerns about PFOA. This forced DuPont to launch a health surveillance program for residents near its manufacturing sites, ultimately uncovering possible associations between PFOA exposure and several adverse health outcomes—leading to a landmark settlement exceeding $750 million in total compensation. A 2016 New York Times feature titled "The Lawyer Who Became DuPont's Worst Nightmare" brought widespread public attention to Bilott’s case—and to the broader potential hazards of PFAS. That article later inspired the 2019 film *Dark Waters*, starring Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway. In 2019, Bilott published his memoir *Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer’s Twenty-Year Battle against DuPont*. Its Chinese edition, *The Truth Behind Dark Waters*, was released in 2022.

A U.S. company discharged carcinogens into tap water—and paid $10 billion in compensation | In-depth report by 36Kr

Faced with a flood of environmental pollution lawsuits, global chemical giant 3M has finally responded. On June 22 local time, 3M announced it has agreed to pay a settlement ranging from a minimum of $10.5 billion to a maximum of $12.5 billion to resolve hundreds of water-contamination claims linked to “forever chemicals” (PFAS). PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—a broad class of synthetic chemicals so named because they resist natural degradation in the environment. In recent years, PFAS have been detected at hazardous concentrations in drinking water, soil, and food across the United States—and have been associated with liver damage, weakened immune function, and certain cancers. Under the agreement, 3M will allocate funds over the next 13 years to support U.S. public water systems in testing for and treating PFAS contamination. Although 3M has reached this settlement, it does not admit liability for the alleged pollution. The company states that if the agreement fails to gain court approval—or if certain stipulated conditions remain unfulfilled—it stands ready to vigorously defend itself in litigation. In fact, 3M is not alone: other globally renowned chemical companies—including DuPont—also face similar pollution allegations. Because 3M pioneered PFAS development as early as the late 1940s and continuously expanded its applications, it now finds itself at the epicenter of this public controversy. In response to mounting litigation pressure, 3M announced last December its intention to exit PFAS manufacturing altogether—and aims to eliminate PFAS from its entire product portfolio by the end of 2025. Today, combating PFAS contamination has become a global challenge, prompting even industry titans to pivot dramatically. Yet for the irreversible harms already inflicted by PFAS, solutions beyond monetary compensation remain unclear. PFAS: Once Created, They Last Forever While the public is well acquainted with plastic waste and other forms of “white pollution,” the dangers posed by certain specific chemicals have yet to receive adequate attention. In reality, the impact of such substances extends far beyond imagination—and PFAS is a prime example. PFAS constitute a vast family of synthetic chemicals, comprising over 5,000 known variants. Valued for their water-repellency, oil-repellency, low friction, and exceptional thermal stability, they are widely used across industrial manufacturing—and today permeate daily life. Tracing their origins, PFAS emerged from the U.S. Manhattan Project during World War II: a chemist passed toxic, yellow-green fluorine gas through a carbon arc, forging an extraordinarily robust carbon–fluorine bond (C–F bond)—the foundational chemical signature of all PFAS. Shortly thereafter, multinational corporation 3M acquired the patent rights to this technology and rapidly extended its application—from defense sectors to petroleum refining, electronics, construction, and other civilian domains. Since the 1940s and 1950s, PFAS have been incorporated into countless consumer products: fire-fighting foams, non-stick cookware, cleaning sprays, waterproof sportswear, stain-resistant carpets, cosmetics—and even fast-food packaging. Like two sides of the same coin, the very chemical properties that make PFAS commercially invaluable also plunge them into a “toxic abyss.”

3M, DuPont Must Face Connecticut Firefighters' Lawsuit Over 'Forever Chemicals'

6 days ago

A federal judge ruled that 3M, DuPont, and other defendants must face a lawsuit from Connecticut firefighters alleging toxic PFAS in protective gear increased cancer risk. This marks the first class action targeting turnout gear contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

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3M, DuPont Must Face Connecticut Firefighters' Lawsuit Over 'Forever Chemicals'

3M, DuPont Must Face Connecticut Firefighters' Lawsuit Over 'Forever Chemicals'

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