Why 3M Can’t Escape PFAS Liability by Ending Production: Charts

3M Co. made the historic announcement Tuesday that it is leaving the business of manufacturing “forever chemicals"—a multibillion dollar industry the company helped found nearly six decades ago.

It will cease production of all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by the end of 2025 due to a confluence of reasons that includes shifting industry desires and “accelerating regulatory trends,” 3M’s chief executive officer Mike Roman told Bloomberg News.

But beyond “accelerating regulatory trends,” the company is facing a deluge of litigation that won’t end when production does. Beginning in 2020, at least 3 PFAS-related lawsuits a day were filed ...