The Australian government has filed a lawsuit against American industrial giant 3M, seeking 2 billion Australian dollars in compensation for the alleged use of forever chemicals in fire-fighting foam that has now contaminated dozens of defence bases in the country, the BBC reports.
Australia’s Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the lawsuit was the largest ever brought by the government and aimed at recovering significant funds spent on remediating forever chemicals at 28 sites.
Forever chemicals, or PFAS, are perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds found in a wide range of everyday objects and products. They do not break down, and PFAS have been shown to accumulate in the environment and can cause a range of health problems, including cancer, liver damage and reduced fertility.
The lawsuit alleges that 3M failed to disclose and misrepresented the firefighting foam and its environmental impact, convincing the company that it was safe, even though it knew it was not. 3M responded by saying it had never manufactured products containing PFAS in Australia and had not sold firefighting foam there for 20 years.
Announcing the lawsuit, Rowland said the government was committed to holding 3M and 3M Australia accountable for the economic and environmental harm caused by the use of PFAS. She said
the company’s actions had caused significant harm to defence and Australian taxpayers,
including spending around 1 billion Australian dollars to investigate and prevent and mitigate PFAS contamination at defence facilities.
In 2022, 3M announced that it had stopped producing and using PFAS in its products because the substances have been linked to a range of health problems, including an increased risk of cancer. The Australian case alleges that 3M knowingly misled the public about the effects of the water-based foam, including its environmental impact. 3M failed to disclose information it knew about the foam’s properties.
A 3M spokesperson said the company would defend itself against the allegations through legal means. The company also said that the Australian Department of Defense continued to use PFAS-containing foams two decades after 3M stopped selling them in Australia.
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