The Australian federal government has filed a $2bn lawsuit against manufacturing company 3M, alleging the company knew for more than 50 years that its firefighting products, including components in Pfas "forever chemicals," could harm human and animal health and damage the environment.
In court documents lodged as part of the lawsuit, commonwealth lawyers claim that products sold to Australia were known to persist in water and soil, remain in the human body and animals, and contribute to conditions such as reduced kidney function, altered immune function, effects on fertility and puberty, and lower birth weight in babies.
Government Seeks Damages Over Contamination at Defence Bases
In May, Attorney General Michelle Rowland announced the federal government was suing 3M and its Australian subsidiary over Pfas chemical contamination at 28 defence bases, seeking damages exceeding $2bn (US$1.4bn). The government alleges that the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (Pfas) in firefighting foam has caused significant environmental and economic harm, marking the largest legal claim brought by the Australian government to date.
Three key Pfas chemicals were banned in Australia last year due to longstanding concerns about environmental contamination and health risks. The statement of claim lodged in the federal court reveals the government will argue that 3M's aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) was known to be potentially damaging to the environment and causative of adverse health effects in humans, and that the company's Australian operations should have known no later than 1973.
Internal Documents Show Early Warnings
Government lawyers conducted exhaustive research, detailed in more than 1,600 pages of filings, claiming that internal company documents included warnings about the products being toxic. One document from April 1981 showed that 3M was not permitting women "of child bearing potential" to work at one of its plants in Alabama, "so they will not be exposed to a type of fluorochemical that can cause birth defects in rats."
Pfas are found in a wide variety of household and industrial products. The more than 14,000 compounds are difficult to break down and persist in the environment for long periods. Some, such as PFOA, one of the chemicals now banned in Australia, have been identified as cancer-causing in humans.
Decades of Use and Ongoing Impact
The government said in May that 28 defence bases across Australia had been affected by the use of the chemicals, requiring contaminated soil to be removed and treated. Defence began phasing out Pfas chemicals in 2004. Court filings revealed that defence and other federal government employees attended demonstrations of AFFF products as early as 1967 and 1968, at a time when company brochures provided to the government said the products were "non-toxic" and had been widely tested.
Purchasing of the products began in 1972. Before December 1973, the company made statements that the products were "non-toxic" and "non-irritating" to humans, would not harm grass, were biodegradable, and were "not expected to adversely affect the ecology of receiving streams in the vicinity of its use." In September 1972, 3M Australia offered large quantities of its AFFF product to Australia at a reduced price.
A decade later, in June 1983, the federal government specifically requested 3M Australia identify whether AFFF "had any harmful environmental effects" and if "disposal of 3M AFFF after testing systems presented any problems." From 1989 until about 2003, the commonwealth bought 3M AFFF on the condition that it conformed with defence standards. Purchases ended in 2003.
Since about 2011, the government has completed investigations and monitoring of potential Pfas contamination at bases and surrounding areas. The filings claimed the chemicals were leaching into groundwater near bases, from concrete, asphalt, soil, or sediment into surface water and drains. Widespread monitoring and investigations are ongoing, with more expected in the coming years.
The statement of claim details hundreds of millions of dollars in legal settlements for loss and damage, including $360m in class actions and more than $214m for ongoing investigations, monitoring, remediation, and mitigation. More than $51m has been spent on research and evidence collection so far.
3M did not respond to a request for comment on Monday. In May, a spokesperson for the company said it never manufactured Pfas in Australia and stopped selling the products in question around two decades ago. The spokesperson said defence continued to use the products for nearly two decades. "We will defend ourselves against these claims through the legal process," the spokesperson said.
Earlier this month, federal court justice Catherine Button told a case management hearing in Melbourne that she had "never seen a claim like this." She said to characterise the case as daunting "would be an understatement." A further hearing is expected in October, and 3M is expected to provide its defence before the end of the year.
