USA: 3M Announces $7.4 Billion Settlement in ‘Forever Chemicals’ Injuries Case

pfpcnews · Post by **pfpcnews** » Thu Nov 05, 2026 3:30 pm

3M Announces $7.4 Billion Settlement in ‘Forever Chemicals’ Injuries Case
Agreement covers up to 120,000 who claim they were hurt by chemicals containing PFAS

Wall Street Journal - November 3, 2026

By John Keilman

Materials maker 3M announced it has agreed to settle long-running litigation brought by thousands of people who claim they were hurt by the so-called forever chemicals known as PFAS.

The company will pay $7.35 billion over nine years to plaintiffs who have made personal-injury claims related to firefighting foam that contained PFAS. As many as 120,000 plaintiffs could participate in the settlement, 3M said. The agreement is the latest in a string of settlements related to the chemicals.

The company will take a pretax charge of $5.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2026, which it said represents the present value of the settlement.

“This settlement is a significant milestone for 3M and substantially reduces litigation uncertainty,” said 3M Chief Executive Bill Brown.

Michael London, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs, said diseases covered by the settlement include several types of cancer.

“We think it’s a great result,” London said. “It’s going to allow tens of thousands of people to get compensation for exposure to PFAS.”

3M will have a conference call for investors to discuss the settlement Wednesday morning.

3M commercialized PFAS decades ago, using the chemicals for their resistance to heat and stains. They are called forever chemicals because they don’t break down in the environment.

Some nonstick cookware and waterproof clothing contained PFAS, but the personal-injury litigation centered on foam used by firefighters to douse jet-fuel blazes. Lawsuits claimed the chemicals have contaminated drinking water and caused health problems.

3M said it began to phase out the compounds at issue in the litigation in 2000, and last year discontinued all manufacturing of PFAS.

SOURCE:
https://www.wsj.com/business/3m-announc ... ?st=xPJKLt