3M knew its firefighting foams were toxic but claimed they were safe, internal documents suggest.  

Newly uncovered records - revealed by Watershed Investigations and the Guardian - show that from the 1960s to 2003, chemicals giant 3M knowingly marketed firefighting foams containing toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as harmless and biodegradable. 

PFAS, known as ‘forever chemicals’, persist in the environment for thousands of years and are linked to cancers, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, hormonal issues, and fertility problems.  

Despite growing evidence from 1949 that PFAS do not biodegrade, 3M continued to describe its aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) as “biodegradable, low in toxicity, and … treatable in biological treatment systems”.

Internal tests from 1983 showed PFAS resisted degradation in aquatic environments, contradicting the company’s public claims.  

Professor Ian Cousins from Stockholm University has criticised the company’s disposal advice.

“Disposing of the foams in a sewer was disastrous as the PFAS went straight through the wastewater treatment process, either ending up in the effluent from the wastewater treatment plant or in the sludge,” he said. 

In Australia, 3M’s misleading claims led to widespread contamination. 

In 1987, the Department of Defence relied on 3M’s assurances to justify spreading AFFF on fields at RAAF Tindal in the Northern Territory. 

By 2017, PFOS contamination had tainted local drinking water, forcing costly taxpayer-funded remediation efforts.  

THe company has been embroiled in legal actions over the matter. 

In 2018, 3M settled an $890 million lawsuit with Minnesota over PFAS pollution. 

In 2023, it agreed to pay over $10 billion to resolve claims related to contaminated drinking water systems in the United States, without admitting liability.  

3M announced in 2000 that it would phase out PFOS and PFOA and, in 2022, pledged to end all PFAS production globally by 2025. 

While PFOS foams were banned in the UK in 2011 and PFOA will face restrictions from July 2025, other PFAS-based foams remain in use worldwide.

The Australian Government is establishing a national body to address PFAS-related environmental and health impacts.

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