The New Jersey Attorney General said on Tuesday that the manufacturer of 3M chemicals agreed to pay $ 450 million to resolve prosecution on the contamination of natural resources from APF – commonly known as “chemicals forever”.
The regulation is subject to the approval of the court and a period of public comments, said the office of the prosecutor general Matt Platkin. The 3M based in St. Paul, Minnesota, should pay $ 285 million this year, with additional amounts payable in the next 25 years. The total amount could reach $ 450 million, said Platkin’s office.
“Business polluters must be held responsible when they contaminate the water supply of our state,” Platkin said in a statement.
PFAs, or perfluoroalkyle and polyfluoroalkyle substances, are a group of chemicals that have existed for decades and have now spread to the country’s air, water and soil.
3M said that in 2022, this would end the entire manufacturing of the PFAS by the end of this year. In a press release, the company said it was on the right track to do so.
“This agreement is another important step towards risk reduction and uncertainty about these inherited questions, allowing 3m to focus on its strategic priorities,” said 3m.
PFAs were manufactured by companiesLike 3m, fireplace and others because they were incredibly useful. They helped the eggs to slide on non -stick pots, assured that the fire -fighting foam stifles the flames and helped the clothes resist the rain and keep people dry.
Chemicals, however, resist rupture, which means that they persist in the environment.
Environmental activists say that PFAS manufacturers knew PFA’s health damage long before they were made public. The same attributes that make chemicals so precious – resistance to rupture – make them dangerous for people.
The PFA accumulates in the body, which is why the environmental protection agency has set its limits for drinking water to 4 parts per billion for two common types – PFOA and VPO – which are deleted out of manufacturing but are always present in the environment.
The New Jersey colony arises from prosecution in 2019 on the site of almost 1,500 acres (607 hectare) Chambers Works works in Pennsville and Carneys Point and another location in Parlin. The regulations also solve all other complaints across the state in dispute on PFA in the fire -fighting equipment used in the state.
THEProceedings have allegedly allegedly involvedOf which 3m knew the risks of Forever Chemicals produced in the installations but continued to sell them.
The Attorney General said that by agreeing to settle 3m would not be tried next week in the Chambers Works case.
The New Jersey Environmental Protection Department will use part of the settlement funds to “protect public health, security and the environment against the impacts caused by the PFA”, according to a joint declaration by the Attorney General and Commissioner of the Deputy Shawn Latourette.
This story was initially presented on Fortune.com
