PFAS Observer
On May 12, 2025, 3M announced an agreement with the State of New Jersey to resolve two sets of legal liabilities related to PFAS contamination: (1) all claims that the company is currently facing or has faced related to PFAS contamination at Chambers Works manufacturing facility in Salem County, NJ and (2) all present and future PFAS-related claims that the State of New Jersey has (or may have in the future) against 3M.
In exchange for New Jersey releasing 3M from these legal claims, 3M announced that it will pay what amounts to a pre-tax charge of approximately $285 million. The Office of the New Jersey Attorney General noted, however, in a statement that the settlement outlines a payment schedule over 25 years, with a value that could reach as high as $450 million.
Throughout its history, the Chambers Works site has manufactured gunpowder, radiological material and various chemicals. The facility was long owned by DuPont and is now operated by the Chemours Company. 3M acknowledged in its settlement announcement that it supplied PFAS to DuPont at the Chambers Works site but discontinued doing so in 2001.
The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General first filed suit against DuPont, the Chemours Company and 3M for liability arising from PFAS contamination at the Chambers Works site in 2019. Without a settlement agreement, New Jersey’s case against 3M would have proceeded to trial on May 19, but the federal court hearing the case agreed to postpone trial against 3M while it reviews the settlement.
This settlement announcement with New Jersey follows a string of settlements 3M has entered into to resolve the company’s array of liabilities stemming from PFAS contamination. In 2018, 3M agreed to enter into an $850 million settlement with the State of Minnesota stemming from contamination of drinking water and natural resources in the Twin Cities area. Likewise in 2023, 3M agreed to a $12.5 billion settlement with various public water suppliers to address PFAS contamination in drinking water more broadly.
In its statement announcing the settlement, 3M noted that “[t]he agreement provides finality and certainty for these claims without further litigation.” The proposed settlement agreement, however, will require the approval of the federal court hearing the lawsuit, and it remains to be seen how exactly 3M and New Jersey will structure the language of the settlement to foreclose the potential for future claims arising from PFAS contamination.
While 3M is currently excused from participating in the case, trial for New Jersey’s suit against the other parties alleged to have contributed to the contamination at the Chambers Works site, including DuPont and the Chemours Company, is still scheduled for May 19.
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