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3M has reached a $10 billion settlement over “perpetually chemical compounds” in ingesting water. NPR’s Debbie Elliott talks with Scott Summy, an legal professional for water techniques that sued the chemical maker.
DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST:
3M has reached a settlement over what have been known as perpetually chemical compounds. The chemical producer has agreed to pay at the very least $10.3 billion to settle lawsuits over probably dangerous compounds that do not degrade simply. 3M is a number one maker of PFAS – chemical compounds which have contaminated lots of the nation’s public ingesting water techniques, partly due to issues like firefighting foam.
SCOTT SUMMY: They bought it to airports and hearth coaching amenities throughout the nation, they usually advised them that they wanted to be coaching with it. And they did. And they skilled with it month-to-month. They would set one thing deliberately on hearth after which use the froth to place it out. And as a result of these chemical compounds actually stay perpetually and don’t break down, these compounds get into the bottom and into the groundwater.
ELLIOTT: Scott Summy is without doubt one of the attorneys representing the water techniques that sued 3M and different producers. I requested him how his shoppers have reacted to this settlement.
SUMMY: So the water techniques that I symbolize are situated throughout the nation. They serve public ingesting water. But sadly, like many public water techniques throughout the nation, they’re dealing with PFAS within the ingesting water. And they have been very involved about it as a result of the EPA has put out proposed ingesting water requirements that may take impact in a number of years. And the best way to adjust to them is these water techniques have to put in costly water remedy so as to take away the chemical compounds earlier than the water is served to the general public. So upon listening to about this settlement, clearly the shoppers are very completely satisfied as a result of they have been very involved about how they’ll fund this remedy. And this settlement being the most important ingesting water settlement in American historical past will go a good distance in serving to them fund that remedy.
ELLIOTT: So PFAS have been linked to well being issues starting from liver injury to some cancers. Do you assume this settlement goes far sufficient? Is it going to be sufficient cash to repair the issue?
SUMMY: Obviously, to take away PFAS from public water techniques throughout the nation is an enormously costly endeavor. Unfortunately for 3M, they’re the most important market participant amongst all of the producers. But the issue is, is that their market cap is barely about 55 billion and this settlement can have them pay as much as 12.5 billion. And so this can be a enormous chunk. It’s clearly a compromise. But for our shoppers, it is – you already know, it is higher than the choice of making an attempt to chase them for the following 10 years in a courtroom.
ELLIOTT: You know, is there a tradeoff there, although? Scientists are discovering these chemical compounds in all places now – in meals, in wildlife, in people. A trial would have introduced sort of higher consciousness to the issue.
SUMMY: Yes, however trials are costly. They’re dangerous. And, you already know, for my shoppers – they are not – you already know, the cities and cities throughout America – they are not within the enterprise of litigating. They are within the enterprise of operating their cities and serving water. And they actually simply needed to discover a option to get help in getting them remedy for his or her ingesting water. Now, remember, within the multidistrict litigation the place all these instances have been pending, there are various, many, many instances left. There are 1000’s of non-public harm instances. There are legal professional common fits. There are property injury instances. So there very effectively could also be trials coming.
ELLIOTT: So that is only the start.
SUMMY: This is the start.
ELLIOTT: Attorney Scott Summy. His shoppers received a $10 billion settlement settlement from 3M over ingesting water contamination involving the chemical compounds PFAS.
SUMMY: Thanks for having me.
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