3M Heads to Trial in ‘Existential’ $143 Billion PFAS Litigation

3M Co. faces an existential threat from lawsuits over allegedly cancer-linked “forever chemicals” that have leached into municipal water supplies, with the company’s liability possibly hitting $143 billion for cleanup alone.

The first trial out of some 4,000 lawsuits against 3M, many by state and local governments, over pollution caused by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, is set to start June 5 in federal court in Charleston, South Carolina. PFAS have been used for decades in products ranging from nonstick pans to cosmetics, but they don’t break down naturally and can settle in soil, water or human ...