Latest news with #Deepwater
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
3M to pay New Jersey $450M to settle 'forever chemicals' claims
May 14 (UPI) -- 3M has agreed to pay New Jersey up to $450 million to settle a claims accusing the Minnesota-based company of widespread contamination from so-called forever chemicals, which have affected drinking water in the state. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette announced the settlement in a statement Tuesday. The settlement, which is subject to public comment and court approval, resolves two separate claims against 3M concerning the contamination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl, known by the initials PFAS. These so-called forever chemicals are long-lasting and are found in everyday products, from cookware to firefighting foam, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health and Sciences. This complex group of synthetic chemicals, which has been in consumer products since the 1950s, is also associated with an increased risk of some cancers. The settlement resolves separate lawsuits filed against 3M in 2019 concerning its role in the forever chemicals contamination at the 1,445-acre Chambers Works facility in Deepwater and the Parlin facility in Parlin. The Chambers site is currently owned by Chemours and was previously owned by DuPont. 3M supplied forever chemicals to DuPont at the site until 2001. By settling, 3M will not stand trial, scheduled to start Monday, concerning the Chambers facility complaint, though DuPont, Chemours and others named as defendants in the case will. The agreement also resolves the state's claims against 3M in a separate lawsuit regarding forever chemicals in firefighting materials. "Corporate polluters must be held accountable when they contaminate our state's water supply," Platkin said in a statement. "Today's settlement marks the latest chapter in our office's efforts to combat PFAS contamination and protect access to clean water." According to Platkin's office, the settlement will see 3M make payments of up to $325 million by 2034, with an additional $125 million in payments to be paid to New Jersey by 2050. In a statement, 3M said the agreement is not an admission of liability, and if it is not approved by the court, it is prepared to defend itself in litigation. "This agreement is another step toward reducing risk and uncertainty on these legacy issues, allowing 3M to focus on its strategic priorities," it said, adding that it voluntarily exited the manufacturing of per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals in 2000 and has plans to discontinue all forever chemicals manufacturing by the end of this year. "3M remains on track to do so."
New York Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
3M to Pay New Jersey Up to $450 Million for Drinking-Water Contamination
3M is set to pay New Jersey up to $450 million over the next quarter-century to settle claims it contaminated the state with harmful 'forever chemicals,' or PFAS, affecting drinking water. The Minnesota-based chemicals giant manufactured the PFAS, which were used for decades at the Chambers Works facility in Deepwater, N.J., a nearly 1,500-acre complex on the banks of the Delaware River. The site was owned by DuPont, a rival company. It is the largest single clean-water settlement in New Jersey's history, the state said. New Jersey sued 3M, DuPont and other PFAS manufacturers in 2019, saying the facility had contaminated drinking water. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, is used in a range of everyday products like nonstick cookware, water-repellent clothing and stain-resistant carpets. Exposure to the chemicals has been linked to metabolic disorders, decreased fertility in women and developmental delays in children, as well as increased risk of some prostate, kidney and testicular cancers. Under the settlement announced Tuesday, 3M will pay New Jersey between $400 million to $450 million over 25 years to pay for damages, as well as cleanup and drinking water treatment. DuPont and its chemical spinoff Chemours, which now owns the Chambers Works facility, were not part of the settlement, New Jersey said. The remaining parties are expected to proceed to trial in the case. DuPont declined to comment. 'Corporate polluters must be held accountable when they contaminate our state's water supply,' New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a statement. 'For decades, 3M knew that their PFAS chemicals were forever contaminating the New Jersey environment. But they continued to pollute the environment and escape accountability,' he said. 'That ends now.' According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Chambers Works facility once manufactured gunpowder as well as radiological material, and contributed to the development of the atomic bomb. It more recently manufactured a variety of chemicals, including PFAS. Shawn M. LaTourette, New Jersey's Commissioner of Environmental Protection, said contamination in the state went well beyond drinking water. 'We find PFAS everywhere in the state of New Jersey, leeching from landfills, and even in the soils of distant remote New Jersey forests that should be pristine,' he said. New Jersey is the second known state to settle with 3M over PFAS drinking water contamination claims. In 2018, 3M agreed to pay Minnesota $850 million for contaminating drinking water and natural resources in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. In 2023, 3M also reached a nationwide settlement with public water suppliers for up to $12.5 billion to address PFAS contamination in drinking water. 3M said the agreement was an 'important step toward reducing risk and uncertainty' around historical PFAS contamination. The company said in 2000 that it was voluntarily phasing out the production of two major types of PFAS, and it has said it is on track to discontinue all PFAS manufacturing by 2025. The company said the settlement did not amount to an admission of guilt. It is taking a pretax charge of $285 million in the second quarter. The E.P.A. had been expected to indicate this week whether it intends to stick to strict PFAS drinking water standards set by the Biden administration last year, which would require water utilities to all but remove six different types of PFAS from their water supply. Chemical companies and utilities sued the agency over the move. The Trump administration had been due to say on Monday whether it would continue to defend the standards in court. Instead, it asked for a 21-day extension to decide on its planned course of action.
Hindustan Times
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Did Ben Affleck just admit that Jennifer Lopez ‘drove him crazy'?
Ben Affleck is no stranger to the public eye, now the Deepwater star expressed that Jennifer Lopez 'drove him crazy'. Despite their fairytale beginnings, the couple's lovey-dovey period ended in divorce in 2024 after just two years. While appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe to promote his upcoming film The Accountant 2, Affleck spoke, 'The people you love the most drive you the most crazy,' while alluding his character's chemistry with costar Jon Bernthal . Many took this as a subtle nod to Lopez. The couple gave their romance a second shot after their engagement in the early 2000s fizzled out and began to show signs of strain during the filming of Lopez's passion project, This Is Me... Now: A Love Story. ALSO READ| Ben Affleck reveals why he is making his 'broke' kids work classic teenager jobs with minimum wage During the documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told, Lopez breaks down in tears over her overwhelming workload, saying she felt guilty for missing a planned event with Affleck, per Daily Mail report. Still, just last week, Affleck called her 'spectacular', per Entertainment Tonight. 'For the record, Jennifer Lopez is spectacular, great to my kids, great ongoing relationship with them,' he said. 'She's an enormously important, tremendous person of a lot of integrity who I adore and am grateful to.' Daily Mail further reported that Luciana Barroso, the wife of Affleck's best friend Matt Damon, has been urging him to reenter the dating scene. 'Ben's been on a couple of under-the-radar dates, but so far there's been no magic for him,' an onlooker told the outlet. ALSO READ| Watch: Ben Affleck's 13-year-old son roasts him during a gaming livestreaming session But Affleck, who has struggled with alcohol addiction and gone through multiple stints in rehab. 'His recovery family is urging him to date a woman in the recovery community. Ben being with a woman who drinks is not conducive to his sobriety,' another insider told Radar Online. The father of three said in the same interview, 'I'm genuinely a happy person.'
