Photo: Tony Webster / Wikimedia (archive)
3M announced Tuesday that it has agreed to a $7.35 billion settlement commitment over nine years to address PFAS-related personal injury claims, a major step in its effort to manage litigation over chemicals used in aqueous film-forming firefighting foam. The company put the present value of the commitment at $5.8 billion.
The resolution addresses approximately 99% of current personal injury claims inside and outside the Aqueous Film-Forming Foam multidistrict litigation in federal court in South Carolina, 3M said in its settlement announcement. About 115,000 to 120,000 plaintiffs are eligible to participate, including those whose personal injury claims have been the focus of that litigation.
Those figures describe the scope of the company’s agreement, not a court judgment finding liability. The resolution does not eliminate all future PFAS exposure, and 3M said it makes no admission of liability. If certain agreed terms are not fulfilled, the company said it is prepared to continue defending itself in litigation.
Payments spread over nine years
The $7.35 billion is the nominal, pre-tax total commitment. The lower $5.8 billion present-value figure reflects the current value of payments spread into future years; the two figures are different ways of describing the same commitment, not separate settlements to be added together.
The schedule includes a $50 million payment in 2026 and no payments in 2027, with approximately 20% of payments due in the final two years. 3M said the structure aligns the new obligations with payments it already owes under other legacy settlements.
A $680 million reserve fund is included within the overall financial commitment, rather than added on top. The company said remaining and future personal injury claims would be handled through several mechanisms, including payments contingent on plaintiffs joining the resolution.
3M also anticipates an order from the multidistrict-litigation court setting evidentiary and timing requirements for plaintiffs who seek to litigate in the future. That order was described as anticipated in the announcement, not as a completed ruling.
A fourth-quarter charge, with guidance unchanged
3M said it will record a $5.8 billion pre-tax charge in the fourth quarter of 2026, representing the present value of its contributions. It will treat the charge as a special item when calculating adjusted results and said its previously issued 2026 guidance is unchanged.
Chairman and Chief Executive William Brown called the agreement a “significant milestone” that substantially reduces litigation uncertainty. He placed it alongside 3M’s 2023 resolution with U.S. public water suppliers and a more recent New Jersey settlement as part of the company’s effort to manage legacy PFAS matters.
The legacy personal injury claims primarily concern PFAS compounds that 3M announced in 2000 it would phase out, the company said. It also said it completed its separately announced exit from manufacturing all PFAS globally by the end of 2025 and would continue remediation at sites where it historically made the chemicals.
The announcement still carries conditions and participation risk. 3M warned that plaintiff participation could fall below a level that would allow it to terminate the agreement, and that challenges, appeals or additional claims could affect the resolution. The approximately 99% coverage figure applies to current personal injury claims, not every possible future PFAS claim or legal obligation.
3M plans an investor call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, November 4, to discuss the agreement. The company said additional financial details will appear in its Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
JBizNews Desk | St. Paul
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