The US Environmental Protection Agency wants to limit the occurrence of PFAS substances in water.
(Photo: AP)
Dusseldorf So-called “forever chemicals” could become a billion-dollar trap for industrial groups. While the EU is currently pushing ahead with a far-reaching ban on this group of substances, manufacturers in the USA are already being sued. The substances are PFAS chemicals that are poorly or non-degradable in nature. They are associated with pollution and health risks. The German BASF is also one of the defendants.
Three American chemical companies have now agreed on a first out-of-court settlement for contamination with PFAS. They pay $1.2 billion in compensation to communities where drinking water was contaminated with the substances. In a joint statement, Chemours, Dupont and Corteva said they had reached “an agreement in principle” to settle all lawsuits.
The US group 3M is heading for an even larger comparison sum. According to reports in US media, 3M will pay a total of ten billion dollars in the legal dispute with several US cities over PFAS-contaminated drinking water. The agreement still has to be confirmed by a judge, which is why the comparison is not officially confirmed.
There are 2,200 lawsuits against BASF
The procedures deal with the contamination of water with fire-fighting foams containing PFAS. Because of the “forever chemicals” in the foams, BASF is also being sued in the US for damages by local authorities and at the federal level. The Ludwigshafen-based group inherited this burden when it took over the Swiss company Ciba Specialty Chemicals in 2009.
As of January 2023, BASF has been sued in over 2,200 cases. The group currently did not want to comment on whether it is also seeking an out-of-court settlement. In the most recent annual report, BASF states that it is currently not possible to estimate the outcome of these proceedings or to predict potential measures by regulatory authorities. “An unfavorable outcome could have a significant impact on BASF’s results,” it says.
All in all, manufacturers in the USA are threatened with further billions in damages, expect the legal experts at the financial news agency Bloomberg. Lawsuits and settlements could become one of the most expensive legal battles in the United States. Legal circles are already talking about the “new glyphosate”: The controversial weed-killing chemical has so far cost the manufacturer Bayer more than ten billion euros to settle lawsuits.
The manufacturer wants to phase out the production of PFAS substances.
(Photo: Reuters)
PFAS compounds – the abbreviation stands for per- and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds – are used in the manufacture of numerous industrial and consumer products. The group of substances includes more than 10,000 different substances. Many authorities warn of the consequences. “The chemicals often interfere with ecosystems and can damage plants, animals and humans,” says the German Federal Environment Agency.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is already calling for new standards to limit the occurrence of the substances in drinking water. She sees a health hazard. Several US states and other countries have already banned groups of PFAS.
Netherlands claims damages from 3M
In Europe, the EU Commission is planning an extensive ban on the chemicals. But that would have consequences: Many “forever chemicals” are crucial substances for lithium batteries, wind turbines, fuel cells and computer chips – and for PFAS there is currently no alternative, at least in high-tech applications. At the end of May, the mechanical engineering association VDMA warned in a position paper of the consequences of such a ban, and the Association of the Electronics Industry (ZVEI) also warned that the chip industry in Europe was at risk.
However, manufacturers are already threatened with legal consequences in Europe. The Dutch government announced last week that it would seek compensation from 3M for damage caused by chemicals in a Dutch estuary. 3M has already paid €571 million to Belgium’s Flemish Region after a chemical leak from a factory near Antwerp. The US company has now announced that it will stop producing PFAS.
More: “Potentially existential threat”: Industry warns of ban on “forever chemicals”