3M has reached a $10 billion settlement over “eternally chemical substances” in ingesting water. NPR’s Debbie Elliott talks with Scott Summy, an lawyer for water programs that sued the chemical maker.
DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST:
3M has reached a settlement over what have been referred to as eternally chemical substances. The chemical producer has agreed to pay no less than $10.3 billion to settle lawsuits over probably dangerous compounds that do not degrade simply. 3M is a number one maker of PFAS – chemical substances which have contaminated most of the nation’s public ingesting water programs, partly due to issues like firefighting foam.
SCOTT SUMMY: They bought it to airports and fireplace coaching services throughout the nation, they usually instructed them that they wanted to be coaching with it. And so they did. And so they skilled with it month-to-month. They might set one thing deliberately on fireplace after which use the froth to place it out. And since these chemical substances actually stay eternally 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 programs that sued 3M and different producers. I requested him how his shoppers have reacted to this settlement.
SUMMY: So the water programs that I characterize are positioned throughout the nation. They serve public ingesting water. However sadly, like many public water programs throughout the nation, they’re dealing with PFAS within the ingesting water. And so they’ve 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 programs have to put in costly water remedy to be able to take away the chemical substances earlier than the water is served to the general public. So upon listening to about this settlement, clearly the shoppers are very pleased as a result of they have been very involved about how they are going to fund this remedy. And this settlement being the biggest 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: Clearly, to take away PFAS from public water programs throughout the nation is an enormously costly endeavor. Sadly for 3M, they’re the biggest market participant amongst all of the producers. However the issue is, is that their market cap is barely about 55 billion and this settlement may have them pay as much as 12.5 billion. And so it is a enormous chunk. It is clearly a compromise. However 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 already know, is there a tradeoff there, although? Scientists are discovering these chemical substances in every single place now – in meals, in wildlife, in people. A trial would have introduced form of higher consciousness to the issue.
SUMMY: Sure, however trials are costly. They’re dangerous. And, you already know, for my shoppers – they don’t seem to be – you already know, the cities and cities throughout America – they don’t seem to be within the enterprise of litigating. They’re within the enterprise of working their cities and serving water. And so they actually simply needed to discover a strategy to get help in getting them remedy for his or her ingesting water. Now, do not forget, within the multidistrict litigation the place all these instances had been pending, there are lots of, many, many instances left. There are literally thousands of private harm instances. There are lawyer basic fits. There are property injury instances. So there very nicely could also be trials coming.
ELLIOTT: So that is just the start.
SUMMY: That is the start.
ELLIOTT: Legal professional Scott Summy. His shoppers received a $10 billion settlement settlement from 3M over ingesting water contamination involving the chemical substances PFAS.
SUMMY: Thanks for having me.
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