A U.S. company discharged carcinogens into tap water—this firm agreed to pay $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 had 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 compounds dubbed 'forever chemicals' 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 human health issues including liver damage, weakened immune function, and certain cancers. Under the agreement, 3M will fund testing and treatment of PFAS contamination in U.S. public water systems over the next 13 years. Although 3M has reached this settlement, it does not admit liability for the pollution. The company stated that if the agreement is not approved by the court or certain conditions are unmet, it stands ready to defend itself in litigation. In fact, 3M is not alone: other globally renowned chemical firms—including DuPont—have also faced similar pollution allegations. Because 3M pioneered PFAS development as early as the late 1940s and continuously expanded its applications, it has become the epicenter of this public controversy. In response to mounting legal pressure, 3M announced last December its plan to exit PFAS production entirely and aims to eliminate all PFAS from its product portfolio by the end of 2025. Today, preventing PFAS contamination has become a global issue—and industry giants are pivoting en masse. Yet for the irreversible harms caused by PFAS, solutions beyond monetary compensation remain unclear. PFAS: Once Created, They Never Truly Die The public is already familiar with plastic and other forms of 'white pollution', but the dangers posed by certain specific chemicals have yet to receive sufficient attention. In reality, the impact of such substances extends far beyond imagination—and PFAS is one prominent example. PFAS comprises a vast family of chemical compounds—over 5,000 individual substances are known. Thanks to their water-repellent, oil-repellent, low-friction, and thermally stable properties, they are widely used in industrial manufacturing—and today, they permeate everyday life. Tracing their origins, PFAS emerged during the U.S. Manhattan Project in World War II, when a chemist passed toxic, yellow-green fluorine gas through a carbon arc, creating an almost indestructible carbon–fluorine bond (C–F bond)—the foundational feature of PFAS. Shortly thereafter, multinational corporation 3M acquired the chemist’s patent and rapidly expanded PFAS applications—from defense to petrochemicals, electronics, construction, and other civilian sectors. Since the 1940s and 1950s, PFAS have been widely incorporated into numerous consumer products, including fire-fighting foams, non-stick cookware, cleaning sprays, waterproof sportswear, stain-resistant carpets, cosmetics—and even fast-food packaging. Like two sides of a coin, PFAS’s unique chemical properties deliver immense commercial value on one hand—but also plunge them into a 'toxic abyss' on the other.

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Non-stick cookware requires nuanced discussion. Teflon (PTFE) coatings remain highly stable under normal cooking temperatures; instability begins only above approximately 260°C—far exceeding typical home cooking ranges. However, dry-heating (e.g., heating an empty pan) can reach such temperatures. Therefore, replacing pans once their coating is scratched or peeling—and avoiding dry heating—are fundamental safety practices. Regarding clothing: Water-repellent treatments on outdoor jackets and quick-dry apparel have drawn scrutiny and investigation against several major international brands. Still, the claim that 'wearing PFAS-containing clothes causes cancer' is an exaggeration: dermal exposure yields far lower intake than dietary exposure. There’s no need to empty your wardrobe—but you *can* reduce skin exposure by wearing such items less frequently and choosing safer materials for undergarments and close-to-skin layers. Additionally, some long-wear cosmetics contain PFAS; meanwhile, drinking water represents a low-dose, chronic exposure route—and thus has become the most rigorously regulated front globally. What Does the Health Evidence Show? In 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified PFOA as a Group 1 carcinogen (based on sufficient evidence in animals and strong mechanistic evidence; human epidemiological evidence remains limited—with the strongest associations observed for kidney and testicular cancers). PFOS was classified as Group 2B ('possibly carcinogenic to humans'), as human evidence remains inadequate⁽⁸⁻⁹⁾. Beyond cancer, research links PFAS exposure to elevated cholesterol, thyroid disorders, diminished antibody responses to childhood vaccines, and low birth weight⁽¹⁰⁾. Image source: Reference ⁽¹⁰⁾ These conclusions rest upon a long litigation history. From the late 1990s to early 2000s, attorney Rob Bilott began investigating pollution from DuPont’s Parkersburg, West Virginia plant. His work gained wider public attention following a 2016 cover story in *The New York Times Magazine* and the 2019 film *Dark Waters*. A court-appointed independent scientific panel—the C8 Science Panel—confirmed between 2011 and 2012 that PFOA exposure was 'probably linked' to six diseases: kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and high cholesterol. In 2017, DuPont settled related claims for $671 million. This is not an isolated case. In June 2023, 3M agreed to pay up to approximately $10.3 billion—disbursed over 13 years—to settle PFAS water contamination lawsuits involving over 10,000 U.S. public water systems, and simultaneously announced its full exit from all PFAS production by the end of 2025. DuPont, Chemours, and others settled separate cases for roughly $1.2 billion. Regulatory tightening further underscores the seriousness. In April 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its first nationwide enforceable drinking water standard for PFAS—setting limits of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) each for PFOA and PFOS. One ppt equals one part per trillion; 4 ppt is roughly equivalent to one drop in five Olympic-sized swimming pools. Such an extremely low threshold reflects regulators’ precautionary, 'better safe than sorry' stance. Globally, the Stockholm Convention has progressively added PFOS (in 2009, Annex B, restriction) and PFOA (in 2019, Annex A, elimination) to its list of controlled substances.

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