Three U.S. chemical manufacturers have agreed to pay $1.19 billion to compensate water utilities and municipalities for drinking water contamination resulting from so-called “forever chemicals,” in the largest yet confirmed U.S. settlement of litigation over the toxic materials.
DuPont and its spinoff companies Corteva and The Chemours Co. will contribute proportional amounts to settle some of the hundreds of complaints filed against them and other chemical makers over the past five years for groundwater pollution caused by polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). They are used in a variety of industrial, commercial and consumer products, including aqueous film-forming foam that is a major component in fire-fighting applications.