Australia filed its largest-ever compensation claim against 3M, alleging firefighting foam containing “forever chemicals” contaminated 28 military sites and left the government with major cleanup costs.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Australia has filed a record compensation lawsuit against 3M, seeking more than 2 billion Australian dollars, or about $1.4 billion, over contamination linked to firefighting foam used at defense bases.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the Federal Court of Australia, targets Minnesota-based 3M Company and its subsidiary, 3M Australia. The Australian government says the case is its largest-ever claim for compensation and involves contamination at 28 defense sites from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS.
PFAS are human-made chemicals widely described as “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down in the environment. The substances have been used since the 1950s in household and industrial products designed to resist heat, stains, grease and water. They also were used in firefighting foam because of the foam’s effectiveness against fuel fires.
The Australian government is seeking to recover costs tied to past and future work needed to investigate, manage and reduce contamination connected to the historic storage and use of the foam.
“The Commonwealth (of Australia) is seeking more than AU$2 billion ($1.4 billion) in damages to recover significant past and future expenses incurred in investigating and managing contamination resulting from the historic storage and use of this foam,” Attorney-General Michelle Rowland told reporters.
Rowland accused 3M of withholding information about the environmental risks associated with the foam.
3M said it will contest the lawsuit and argued that Australia’s Defense Department continued using PFAS-containing firefighting foams long after the company stopped selling the products at issue in the country.
“3M has never manufactured PFAS in Australia and ceased sales of the products at issue in Australia around two decades ago,” the company said in a statement. “Despite this, the (Australian) Department of Defense continued to use PFAS-containing firefighting foams for nearly two decades longer.”
The Australian Defense Department has already spent AU$1.3 billion, or about $920 million, addressing environmental impacts from the foam, according to Assistant Defense Minister Peter Khalil. He said the department has removed 200,000 metric tons, or 220,000 U.S. tons, of contaminated soil from military bases and treated 13 billion liters, or 3.4 billion gallons, of contaminated water.
“We are prepared to take on powerful corporations when Australians and Australian communities have been impacted,” Khalil said.
The contamination has affected areas beyond military installations. In 2018, the Australian Defense Department warned residents living near Richmond Air Base outside Sydney to reduce consumption of locally produced fish and eggs after PFAS was detected in nearby groundwater.
The lawsuit adds to the global legal scrutiny facing companies tied to PFAS products and cleanup costs. Australia’s claim focuses on the financial burden of responding to contamination at defense facilities and the government’s allegation that the manufacturer failed to adequately disclose the environmental risks of the foam.
3M’s defense centers on its position that it did not manufacture PFAS in Australia, stopped selling the relevant products there about 20 years ago and should not be held responsible for the Defense Department’s continued use of PFAS-containing foams after that point.