3M, the $54.41 billion manufacturer of chemicals, must pay a minimum of $10.3 billion to settle numerous lawsuits. The agreement will pay water providers for forever chemicals, which are chemicals that do not naturally degrade and are linked to dangerous health issues, found in drinking water.

The 3M agreement follows on the heels of three other chemical manufacturing companies, Chemours, DuPont and Corteva, which are paying $1.19 billion toward claims that the manufacturers contaminated drinking water throughout the United States.

A new report from the non-profit Environmental Working Group and Northeastern University states about 19 million Americans are being exposed to dangerous chemicals in their drinking water.

A second new study of forever chemicals, which are produced by numerous manufacturers including 3M, was released this week by US Geological Survey. This new research study reports that these dangerous chemicals are found in almost fifty percent of all drinking water in the United States. The US Geological Survey states that the potential for human exposure (both home and workplace) is “from natural and man-made tap water contaminants.”

The contamination of the water systems includes per- and polyfluorinated substances. These forever chemicals, also known as PFAS, include a sweeping class of chemicals often used in grease-cutting products for nonstick cookware and clothing, paints, and more. PFAS are also present in firefighting foam and used across the United States to battle fires.

Researchers discovered about 610 contaminated water locations, from public water systems, public airports, military bases, industrial plants, dumps and firefighter training sites.

3M is one of the leading manufacturers of PFAS. These forever chemicals are linked to serious health conditions including liver damage, birth defects, infertility, numerous types of cancer, immune-system damage and more.

Two of the dangerous compounds, including PFOA and PFOS, are already restricted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA said it plans to prohibit the use of four more other such chemicals, and that water providers are legally responsible for conducting ongoing testing of water quality.

The new 3M legal agreement will settle the lawsuit from Stuart, Florida, which is only one of approximately 300 towns that have already filed suits against numerous chemical companies, including 3M. In total, 43 states have lawsuits pending in the forever chemicals disputes across the United States. The suits focus on the firefighting foam that has seeped into the water systems and contains the dangerous PFAS.

In an interview, David Andrews, a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group, said the contaminated water systems are dangerous, especially because these chemicals accumulate in your body, meaning that there is also a cumulative effect on people drinking the water more than once.

“This should be frightening to all Americans in many ways," said Andrews. “These chemicals... don't break down in our body and they don't break down in our environment and they actually stick to our blood. So levels tend to increase over time.”

Environmental leaders are demanding the EPA create more stringent legal rules protecting water immediately. Ken Cook, the president of the Environmental Working Group, is an expert in the field and has studied PFAS for twenty years. Mr. Cook said that the EPA does not currently have a legal limit as to how many PFAS are in drinking water. He believes the recommended limit on the PFAS in drinking water should be comprised of one ppt, or one part per trillion.

"The Environmental Protection Agency has utterly failed to address PFAS with the seriousness this crisis demands, leaving local communities and states to grapple with a complex problem rooted in the failure of the federal chemical regulatory system," said Cook, in an interview on CBS. ”EPA must move swiftly to set a truly health-protective legal limit for all PFAS chemicals, requiring utilities to clean up contaminated water supplies.” Cook continued, “The EPA has set a health advisory value, but it's not a legally binding limit. Part of the problem is they haven't set a new legal drinking water limit for any contaminant in over two decades. The whole system of regulating chemicals that may end up in our water and setting limits is broken and the agency is really falling behind the science here."

The EPA sent out a reply to Mr. Cook’s interview, saying that "EWG's map seems to show any samples for PFAS chemicals that have been collected, which may or may not be detections. Because EPA has not fully reviewed the quality of the underlying data, and based on the agency's commitment to good risk communication with the public, EPA cannot recommend the map be used to determine where public health risks associated with PFAS chemicals may or may not exist. The agency's efforts continue to be focused on taking the actions committed to in the PFAS Action Plan.”

In the settlement, the agreement states that 3M will pay out the money over 13 years to any “cities, counties and others across” the United States for testing and cleaning up forever chemicals perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl in public water supplies.

Currently, 3M is facing almost 4,000 lawsuits by towns and states regarding PFAS contamination.

Chairman and Chief Executive of 3M Mike Roman, in a statement, said that the new agreement is “an important step forward for 3M” and that the company “will exit all PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025.”