3M offers $10.3B settlement over PFAS contamination in water systems

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - June 27, 2023 - PRLog -- By: A. Daniel Jones, Hui Li, Michigan State University

PFAS chemicals seemed like a good idea at first. As Teflon, they made pots easier to clean starting in the 1940s. They made jackets waterproof and carpets stain-resistant. Food wrappers, firefighting foam, even makeup seemed better with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

Then tests started detecting PFAS in people's blood.

Today, PFAS are pervasive in soil, dust and drinking water around the world. Studies suggest they're in 98% of Americans' bodies, where they've been associated with health problems including thyroid disease, liver damage and kidney and testicular cancer. There are now over 9,000 types of PFAS. They're often referred to as "forever chemicals" because the same properties that make them so useful also ensure they don't break down in nature.

Facing lawsuits over PFAS contamination, the industrial giant 3M, which has made PFAS for many uses for decades, announced a US$10.3 billion settlement with public water suppliers on June 22, 2023, to help pay for testing and treatment. The company admits no liability in the settlement, which requires court approval. Cleanup could cost many times that amount.

How do PFAS get from everyday products into water, soil and eventually humans?

There are two main exposure pathways for PFAS to get into humans – drinking water and food consumption.

PFAS can get into soil through land application of biosolids, that is, sludge from wastewater treatment, and can they leach out from landfills. If contaminated biosolids are applied to farm fields as fertilizer, PFAS can get into water and into crops and vegetables.

For example, livestock can consume PFAS through the crops they eat and water they drink. There have been cases reported in Michigan, Maine and New Mexico of elevated levels of PFAS in beef and in dairy cows. How big the potential risk is to humans is still largely unknown.

Scientists in our research group at Michigan State University are working on materials added to soil that could prevent plants from taking up PFAS, but it would leave PFAS in the soil.

http://youtu.be/SLv18PIcdlY



Comedian Maurice Williams https://open.spotify.com/show/4Get3zFciQL595OJNR8XAy

https://theconversation.com/3m-offers-10-3b-settlement-over-pfas-contamination-in-water-systems-now-how-do-you-destroy-a-forever-chemical-208362