3M is paying $850 million to end a years-long lawsuit claiming it contaminated water in its home state of Minnesota…. 3M is paying $850 million to end a years-long lawsuit claiming it contaminated water in its home state of Minnesota.
Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, who filed the case against 3M in 2010, announced the settlement on Tuesday.
Her office said in a statement that the money would "be used to finance projects which involve drinking water and the water sustainability."
The case centered on 3M’s production of perfluorochemicals, or PFCs, which were made at plants in Minnesota starting in the 1950s.
The chemicals, once used to make stain protector Scotchgard, among other products, polluted ground and surface water in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, according to the state.
The agency said that while PFCs pose environmental and health risks, they had not caused higher rates of cancer and premature births.
3M has repeatedly said it does not think PFCs has caused health issues in Minnesota.
"We do not believe there is a PFC-related public health issue in Minnesota and look forward to discussing the [Minnesota Department of Health] report with the State during trial," the company said in a statement to the Star Tribune.
3M is a manufacturing conglomerate that makes products like Scotch tape, Post-it notes and ACE bandages.
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