[CPEO-MEF] PFAS: "3M knew firefighting foams containing PFAS were toxic, documents show"

[Lenny Siegel <LSiegel@cpeo.org>]

3M knew firefighting foams containing PFAS were toxic, documents show
Exclusive: Newly uncovered documents reveal chemicals giant was aware ‘environmentally neutral’ products did not biodegrade

by Rachel Salvidge and Leana Hosea
Guardian
January 15,  2025 

The multibillion-dollar chemicals company 3M told customers its firefighting foams were harmless and biodegradable when it knew they contained toxic substances so persistent they are now known as “forever chemicals” and banned in many countries including the UK, newly uncovered documents show.

From the 1960s until 2003, 3M made foams containing PFOS and PFOA (perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid), synthetic chemicals that can take tens of thousands of years to degrade in the environment and have been linked to cancers and a range of other health problems such as thyroid disease, high cholesterol, hormonal problems and fertility issues.

Pollution from these substances in soils and water is now widespread across the globe, and has been detected in animals, human organs and blood. They are part of a wider family of more than 15,000 chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) but popularly called “forever chemicals”.

…

For the entire article, see
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/15/3m-firefighting-foams-pfas-forever-chemicals-documents


—

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
Author: DISTURBING THE WAR: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford University out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975 (See http://a3mreunion.org)

_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org