NJ reaches $450M settlement with 3M over dangerous ‘forever chemicals’

🔴 Payments will run through 2050

🔴 Agreement resolves 3M's PFAS liability in New Jersey

🔴 Trial against DuPont and the Chemours Company begins next week

TRENTON — New Jersey has reached a settlement of up to $450 million with multinational conglomerate 3M over its manufacture of PFAS, or forever chemicals. 

On Tuesday, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said the agreement compensates New Jersey residents for the harm that PFAS, which 3M manufactures, have done to the state's drinking water.

The first payment of $285 million will be made this year to resolve a 2019 lawsuit that accused PFAS manufacturers of statewide environmental damage, including to the 1,455-acre Chambers Works site in Pennsville and Carneys Point.

Payments will be made over the next 25 years, Platkin said.

In a press release, 3M said it was on track to end all PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025. It also said the agreement was not an admission of liability.

Dangers of PFAS

The settlement is one step toward holding chemical manufacturers accountable for wreaking havoc on New Jersey's water supplies and natural resources, state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said.

"The makers of PFAS forever chemicals knew just how poisonous these substances were and yet they produced and thoughtlessly released them into New Jersey's environment anyway, because the getting was just too good," LaTourette said.

The synthetic chemicals leach into the environment and the human body, lasting thousands of years.

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According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PFAS have been linked to various cancers, reproductive issues, developmental delays in children, and other health problems.

Around 98% of U.S. residents have detectable levels of PFAS in their blood. The full health effects of PFAS are not fully understood.

Trial against Chemours, DuPont

According to Platkin, DuPont and the Chemours Company face similar accusations of contaminating New Jersey with PFAS.

Chemours, which acquired DuPont in 2015, now runs the Chambers Works site in Salem County.

ALSO SEE: Worker faked Trenton, NJ drinking water reports, officials say

If a settlement isn't reached by Monday, the case will go to trial.

Platkin says it would be the first trial in the country brought by a state for environmental PFAS liability.

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