Dive Brief:
- 3M entered an estimated $7.4 billion broad resolution to settle PFAS-related personal injury claims under the aqueous film-forming foam multidistrict litigation in a federal district court in South Carolina, the chemical titan announced Tuesday.
- Under the agreement, the company’s $5.8 billion present-value commitment will span nine years and includes a $50 million payment in 2026 and no payments in 2027, according to the press release. The deal also includes a $680 million reserve fund set aside for future personal injury claims.
- The settlement will address about 99% of current personal injury claims inside and outside the AFFF MDL, which involves between 115,000 and 120,000 plaintiffs eligible to participate. 3M said the agreement is not an admission of liability.
Dive Insight:
3M’s multibillion-dollar settlement is “welcome news” for claimants who have been seeking answers and accountability for nearly 10 years, Motley Rice attorneys Fred Thompson, who serves as liaison counsel for the MDL, and David Hoyle, who served as a member of the negotiation team, said in a joint statement.
“We commend MDL No. 2873’s leadership for achieving this favorable result for victims who are in urgent need of support to cover the mounting medical bills and other costs frequently associated with toxic PFAS exposure,” Thompson and Hoyle said.
The MDL at the U.S. District Court of South Carolina implemented a process that required plaintiffs to file claims and have them vetted to establish whether they are entitled to file suit, Chairman and CEO Bill Brown said in an investor call Wednesday.
The vetting process led to about 115,000 to 120,000 claimants eligible to participate in the personal injury settlement.
“This settlement is designed to meaningfully reduce 3M's current and future risk,” Kevin Rhodes, 3M’s executive vice president and chief legal affairs officer, said during the call.
In addition to specifying the eligible participants, the agreement includes financial incentives for plaintiffs to take part and addresses the risks of remaining and future claims, Rhodes added.
Furthermore, the claims include six eligible injuries: kidney cancer, testicular cancer, liver cancer, thyroid cancer, ulcerative colitis or thyroid disease, according to the proposed settlement. The deal will require participants to sign broad releases of their current and potential claims.
The settlement represents a “significant milestone” in 3M’s handling of personal injury litigation as well as a “significant step forward” on managing its PFAS issues, Brown said on the call.
3M set out to accomplish three goals through the settlement: establish the total dollar amount, mitigate risks of the PFAS-related personal injury docket and have the MDL court defer the claims for a period of time, he added.
The personal injury settlement is one of three broad areas in 3M’s PFAS litigation docket.
The first was 3M’s $10 billion public water supply resolution in 2023, and the second is their continuing management of state attorneys general cases, Brown said. In 2025, 3M reached an agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to pay up to $450 million to resolve all legacy PFAS-related claims in the state, which a judge finalized earlier in 2026, he added.
“Going forward, we expect the AFFF MDL proceedings to take into account the significant work 3M has done to resolve both the [Public Water System] claims and the personal injury claims, and we anticipate the MDL court to issue an order deferring consideration of further proceedings as to 3M while we implement the settlement,” Brown said.
Despite the $50 million 3M will pay under the agreement in 2026, the company expects its free cash flow to be $4.8 billion for the year as the chemical company continues to implement its strategy, said CFO Anurag Maheshwari.
“The growing cash flow, combined with the ability to monetize our 15% stake in Solventum, future insurance recoveries, and access to capital markets, give us confidence in meeting the obligations under this agreement and while executing on our priorities,” Maheshwari said.
3M estimated that it will have paid down all of its PFAS-related personal injury and public water claims as well as Combat Arms brand earplugs settlements, the latter of which the company is paying $6 billion to resolve, by the end of 2034.
