CHARLESTON, S.C. — 3M has agreed to pay $7.35 billion over nine years to settle personal injury claims tied to PFAS chemicals in firefighting foam, the company announced Tuesday, resolving the heart of a sprawling national case that has been heard in federal court in South Carolina.
A single federal judge in South Carolina, Richard M. Gergel, has overseen every federal PFAS lawsuit in the country. Those cases include thousands of claims from firefighters and others who say exposure to aqueous film-forming foam, used for decades by the military and local fire departments, led to cancer and other illnesses.
According to 3M, the new deal has a present value of $5.8 billion and covers roughly 99% of current injury claims, both inside and outside the consolidated litigation. Between 115,000 and 120,000 plaintiffs are eligible to take part.
Payments are back-loaded. The company will pay $50 million this year and nothing in 2027, and about a fifth of the money is due in the last two years. The total also includes a $680 million reserve for remaining and future claims, and 3M said it expects the court to set evidence and timing rules for anyone who chooses to keep suing.
The company said the agreement is not an admission of liability and that it will take a $5.8 billion pretax charge in the fourth quarter. 3M stopped making all PFAS worldwide by the end of 2025.
The same South Carolina court earlier gave final approval to a separate 3M settlement of $10.5 billion to $12.5 billion with public water providers to pay for removing the chemicals from drinking water systems. That deal did not cover individual injury lawsuits, which this agreement now targets.
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