Attorney General Rob Bonta stated the lawsuit adopted a multiyear probe that discovered the businesses marketed merchandise containing polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) for many years regardless of figuring out they trigger most cancers, developmental defects and different well being issues.
The substances are often known as endlessly chemical substances due to how lengthy they keep within the human physique and setting.
They have been mass produced because the Fifties, and utilized in merchandise similar to firefighting foams, nonstick pans and private care gadgets.
Bonta stated the defendants created a public nuisance and demanded they pay to wash up PFAS, which he stated has been present in ingesting water, rivers, lakes, wildlife and the bloodstreams of about 98% of California’s roughly 39 million folks.
“The damage caused by 3M, DuPont, and other manufacturers of PFAS is nothing short of staggering, and without drastic action, California will be dealing with the harms of these toxic chemicals for generations,” Bonta stated.
(Reporting by Clark Mindock, Editing by Alessandra Rafferty and Deepa Babington)
