3M documents show company hid PFAS dangers

From my daily e-newsletter from the American Association for Justice (attorneys representing injured people) –

Civil Justice System

Internal 3M documents show company hid PFAS dangers for decades.

The Detroit Free Press (5/9, Matheny, 1.52M) reports that in a “scathing resignation letter,” a former 3M environmental specialist “accused company officials of being ‘unethical’ and more ‘concerned with markets, legal defensibility and image over environmental safety’ when it came to PFAS.” In a 1999 resignation letter, Richard Burdy called PFOS, one of 3M’s chief PFAS products, “the most insidious pollutant since PCB.” Purdy said, “It is probably more damaging than PCB because it does not degrade, whereas PCB does; it is more toxic to wildlife,” adding, “I have worked within the system to learn more about this chemical and to make the company aware of the dangers associated with its continued use…but I have continually met roadblocks, delays, and indecision. For weeks on end, I have received assurances that my samples would be analyzed soon – never to see results. There are always excuses and little is accomplished.” The Detroit Free Press says that the letter “is just one of a large cache of internal 3M memos and documents obtained by the Free Press through public records law from the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.”

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