Chemical companies Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva agreed to pay over $1 billion to settle some of the first claims that they contaminated public water with so-called “forever chemicals” linked to cancer and other illnesses. The agreement includes creating a $1.19 billion fund to help remove toxic perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from drinking water systems. However, the preliminary settlement may not be the end of the costs for those companies, as it does not resolve lawsuits resulting from claims of environmental damage or personal injury from individuals already sickened by the chemicals. State attorneys general have filed new lawsuits against them this week. PFAS-related litigation involves more than 4,000 cases filed in federal courts across the country but largely consolidated before a federal judge in Charleston, South Carolina, as multidistrict litigation because the lawsuits involve a common set of facts and allegations. The liability of one of the companies, 3M, could be even greater after Bloomberg reported that the firm has reached a tentative agreement worth “at least $10 billion” with US cities and towns to resolve related PFAS claims.
