If we mention the term ‘3M,’ there would scarcely be an American who will require further explanation. This company has gradually and steadily reached the ranks of a multinational giant.
The primary business area was mining mineral deposits when it was established in 1902 as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing. 3M originally worked at a specific mineral deposit, which helped grind wheel abrasives.
Within three years, its focus shifted towards the production of sandpaper products. Today, this company has spread its wings across different industry verticals, producing over 60,000 products. These include abrasives, laminates, auto parts, medical products, and whatnot.
As of 2024, 3M has a net value of $55.16 billion. Given how influential this enterprise is, its involvement in the PFAS disaster should not be surprising. However, how did it all start and why is the company being seen in a negative light? This article will discuss all about it.
3M and PFAS: Connecting the Dots
For those who find PFAS to still be a mystery, let’s expound a bit on the subject. This topic hits the headlines so often these days that it can be considered as important as climate change. PFAS or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are essentially a complex group of chemicals.
When we say a group of chemicals, we are talking about anywhere over 12,000. All these synthetic chemicals share an inseparable carbon-fluorine bond. It means PFAS are chemical compounds so tightly knit that they cannot easily be broken down into simpler elements.
This property only becomes more concerning when viewed in light of PFAS’ toxic nature. Since their production, these chemicals have been widely used in commercial products like non-stick cookware, stain-resistant clothes or carpets, and Class B firefighting foam.
This foam is predominantly used by the firefighting industry to extinguish liquid-fuel fires. Also known as Aqueous Film Forming Foam, AFFF has been an important part of the firefighting sector for decades. Only a few years ago, firefighters and military personnel came forward to report injuries like cancer due to constant foam exposure.
A group started a lawsuit back in 2017, which became a class-action multi-district litigation (MDL) the succeeding year. As the litigation grew, it only proved that AFFF was indeed responsible for injuries like bladder, testicles, and kidney cancer.
Besides the lawsuit, veterans were eligible to file VA claims for exposure to AFFF for disability benefits. All they needed was to provide evidence for their medical condition and its link to PFAS-based AFFF. There was another side to this litigation where municipalities filed a lawsuit for water contamination due to PFAS.
The water contamination cases were settled in 2023, whereas the personal injury cases are awaiting trials. This half is actively growing as TorHoerman Law shares that 928 new cases were filed in the previous month. The total number of lawsuits stands at a little over 9,000.
All of this chaos took place due to 3M, the primary defendant in the litigation. The company was the first to produce PFAS, which started in the 1950s. Observing the water and oil-repellent properties of the chemicals, 3M supplied PFAS to DuPont for increased Teflon production. It was only in the 1960s that the US Navy used PFAS to develop the fated firefighting foam.
A Shocking Discovery
Let’s clarify here that the US Navy, at the time of AFFF production, had no clue about the toxicity of PFAS. Even when it comes to 3M, the internal team was largely oblivious for some time after production.
However, all of that gradually began to change in 1997. Kris Hansen, an aspiring chemist working under scientist, Jim Johnson, made a shocking discovery. Currently retired, Kris recalls how 3M was the company dealing in post-it notes, sandpaper, and whatnot.
One fine day in 1997, her boss allotted her a rather strange assignment. She was specifically asked to check for contamination in human blood samples. Johnson subtly disclosed his concerns regarding fluorochemicals that were often found in the blood of 3M factory workers.
These chemicals had been among the most popular of the company’s products used in fabric protectors and food packages. At the time, Kris was aware that fluorochemicals were also used in a soapy foam used to extinguish jet fuel fires.
Of all PFAS, Johnson exclusively wanted Kris to test the samples for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid or PFOS. He reassured her that workers were largely unharmed but the recently hired third-party lab provided odd results.
The lab had even used samples from the general population, taken from the American Red Cross, and it was absurd that they even tested positive for the contaminant. Hansen tested the samples to verify that they did have PFOS in them. Even she was perplexed as to why a chemical produced by 3M was showing up in blood samples of those who had never worked for the company.
After rigorous efforts on analyses over the following weeks, it was confirmed that PFOS was found in the bodies of the general masses. When she revealed the results to Johnson, he simply responded with “This changes everything.”
It may not have been the first time that Kris Hansen found a chemical where it didn’t belong. On closer observation, she further discovered that a drainage ditch close to the plant was leaking PFAS. In her mind, such an issue prompted immediate cleanup efforts overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
Naturally, Hansen assumed her bosses would respond with similar diligence and care. To her surprise, Johnson’s reaction was nonchalant. He reported this to his superiors who only suggested that Hansen had made a mistake. Was it denial? It can be an appropriate response initially but this was reeking of something far more devious.
Omitted Warnings and a Desperate Cover-Up
In the weeks that followed, Hansen and her team gathered numerous more civilian samples only to find them all contaminated with PFOS. Another major blow was awaiting this concerned chemist as Johnson announced an early retirement midway through the research.
She was new to corporate life and found herself to be completely lost. The only ray of hope was Johnson’s statement on how PFOS was not harmful to factory workers. However, the truth is that the safety of manmade chemicals can only be tested over time. This means PFAS could easily turn out to be like PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyls.
It was not long before she discovered that the previous denial was deliberate. 3M had already conducted animal studies regarding PFAS toxicity two decades before her research. Rats were fed the second-lowest doses of PFOS daily. While all displayed some signs of liver damage, at least half of them died.
A little later it was found that dosages lower than those used previously could kill a monkey within weeks. If these findings were true, PFOS would make it to the list of the top five most toxic chemicals as recognized by the United Nations.
The most alarming thing of all was the fact that the dosages fed to the animals were nowhere close to what an average person would ingest due to PFAS contamination. Moreover, PFOS was further deemed ‘more toxic than anticipated’ by a 1979 internal report.
Toxicologist, Harold Hodge, urged 3M executives to study whether the enterprise’s fluorochemicals could cause cancer and reproductive defects. If the same effects are found in humans, calling the problem serious would be an understatement.
What was the outcome? 3M simply omitted Hodge’s statement from official meeting notes and continued producing fluorochemicals. It clearly appeared to be a cover-up and an attempt to keep the profits flowing. Hansen’s superiors were more interested in falsifying all evidence than showing concerns for the public.
Into the Light and 3M’s Walk of Shame
In the 2000s, medical literature discussing the ill effects of PFAS started emerging. These were compiled during the early 1990s itself but 3M did not want them to come to the surface. By the next decade, greater investigations were carried out.
Over time, it was clear that PFAS were linked to life-threatening conditions like cancer. All doubts faded when thousands of lawsuits started being lodged.
3M has already agreed to pay $10.3 billion over 13 years for municipal water contamination. This, coupled with earplug lawsuit settlements, has led to a 15% fall in the company’s stocks.
Overall, the most important question is whether 3M has a plan to bounce back. It appears so as the company is making rigorous efforts to drive organic growth. As for PFAS, 3M has promised to stop all production by the year ending 2025.
It still does not take away from the fact that the company played a sinister game of hide and seek to keep the public in the dark.