v3.22.4
Commitments and Contingencies
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Warranties/Guarantees:
3M’s accrued product warranty liabilities, recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheet as part of current and long-term liabilities, are estimated at approximately $48 million at December 31, 2022, and $48 million at December 31, 2021. Further information on product warranties is not disclosed, as the Company considers the balance immaterial to its consolidated results of operations and financial condition. 3M guarantees of loans with third parties and other guarantee arrangements are not material.
Legal Proceedings:
The Company and some of its subsidiaries are involved in numerous claims and lawsuits, principally in the United States, and regulatory proceedings worldwide. These claims, lawsuits and proceedings include, but are not limited to, products liability (involving products that the Company now or formerly manufactured and sold), intellectual property, commercial, antitrust, federal healthcare program related laws and regulations, such as the False Claims Act and anti-kickback laws, securities, and environmental laws in the United States and other jurisdictions. Unless otherwise stated, the Company is vigorously defending all such litigation and proceedings. From time to time, the Company also receives subpoenas, investigative demands or requests for information from various government agencies in the United States and foreign countries. The Company generally responds in a cooperative, thorough and timely manner. These responses sometimes require time and effort and can result in considerable costs being incurred by the Company. Such requests can also lead to the assertion of claims or the commencement of administrative, civil, or criminal legal proceedings against the Company and others, as well as to settlements. The outcomes of legal proceedings and regulatory matters are often difficult to predict. Any determination that the Company’s operations or activities are not, or were not, in compliance with applicable laws or regulations could result in the imposition of fines, civil or criminal penalties, and equitable remedies, including disgorgement, suspension or debarment or injunctive relief.
Process for Disclosure and Recording of Liabilities Related to Legal Proceedings
Many lawsuits and claims involve highly complex issues relating to causation, scientific evidence, and alleged actual damages, all of which are otherwise subject to substantial uncertainties. Assessments of lawsuits and claims can involve a series of complex judgments about future events and can rely heavily on estimates and assumptions. When making determinations about recording liabilities related to legal proceedings, the Company complies with the requirements of ASC 450, Contingencies, and related guidance, and records liabilities in those instances where it can reasonably estimate the amount of the loss and when the loss is probable. Where the reasonable estimate of the probable loss is a range, the Company records as an accrual in its financial statements the most likely estimate of the loss, or the low end of the range if there is no one best estimate. The Company either discloses the amount of a possible loss or range of loss in excess of established accruals if estimable, or states that such an estimate cannot be made. The Company discloses significant legal proceedings even where liability is not probable or the amount of the liability is not estimable, or both, if the Company believes there is at least a reasonable possibility that a loss may be incurred.
Because litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable rulings or developments could occur, there can be no certainty that the Company may not ultimately incur charges in excess of presently recorded liabilities. Many of the matters described are at preliminary stages or seek an indeterminate amount of damages. It is not uncommon for claims to be resolved over many years. A future adverse ruling, settlement, unfavorable development, or increase in accruals for one or more of these matters could result in future charges that could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations or cash flows in the period in which they are recorded. Based on experience and developments, the Company reexamines its estimates of probable liabilities and associated expenses and receivables each period, and whether it is able to estimate a liability previously determined to be not estimable and/or not probable. Where appropriate, the Company makes additions to or adjustments of its estimated liabilities. As a result, the current estimates of the potential impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the legal proceedings and claims pending against the Company could change in the future.
Process for Disclosure and Recording of Insurance Receivables Related to Legal Proceedings
The Company estimates insurance receivables based on an analysis of the terms of its numerous policies, including their exclusions, pertinent case law interpreting comparable policies, its experience with similar claims, and assessment of the nature of the claim and remaining coverage, and records an amount it has concluded is recognizable and expects to receive in light of the loss recovery and/or gain contingency models under ASC 450, ASC 610-30, and related guidance. For those insured legal proceedings where the Company has recorded an accrued liability in its financial statements, the Company also records receivables for the amount of insurance that it concludes as recognizable from the Company’s insurance program. For those insured matters where the Company has not recorded an accrued liability because the liability is not probable or the amount of the liability is not estimable, or both, but where the Company has incurred an expense in defending itself, the Company records receivables for the amount of insurance that it concludes as recognizable for the expense incurred.
The following sections first describe the significant legal proceedings in which the Company is involved, and then describe the liabilities and associated insurance receivables the Company has accrued relating to its significant legal proceedings.
Respirator Mask/Asbestos Litigation
As of December 31, 2022, the Company is a named defendant, with multiple co-defendants, in numerous lawsuits in various courts that purport to represent approximately 4,028 individual claimants, compared to approximately 3,876 individual claimants with actions pending December 31, 2021.
The vast majority of the lawsuits and claims resolved by and currently pending against the Company allege use of some of the Company’s mask and respirator products and seek damages from the Company and other defendants for alleged personal injury from workplace exposures to asbestos, silica, coal mine dust or other occupational dusts found in products manufactured by other defendants or generally in the workplace. A minority of the lawsuits and claims resolved by and currently pending against the Company generally allege personal injury from occupational exposure to asbestos from products previously manufactured by the Company, which are often unspecified, as well as products manufactured by other defendants, or occasionally at Company premises.
The Company’s current volume of new and pending matters is substantially lower than it experienced at the peak of filings in 2003. The Company expects that filing of claims by unimpaired claimants in the future will continue to be at much lower levels than in the past. Accordingly, the number of claims alleging more serious injuries, including mesothelioma, other malignancies, and black lung disease, will represent a greater percentage of total claims than in the past. Over the past twenty plus years, the Company has prevailed in fifteen of the sixteen cases tried to a jury (including the lawsuits in 2018 described below). In 2018, 3M received a jury verdict in its favor in two lawsuits – one in California state court in February and the other in Massachusetts state court in December – both involving allegations that 3M respirators were defective and failed to protect the plaintiffs against asbestos fibers. In April 2018, a jury in state court in Kentucky found 3M’s 8710 respirators failed to protect two coal miners from coal mine dust and awarded compensatory damages of approximately $2 million and punitive damages totaling $63 million. In August 2018, the trial court entered judgment and the Company appealed. In 2019, the Company settled a substantial majority of the then-pending coal mine dust lawsuits in Kentucky and West Virginia for $340 million, including the jury verdict in April 2018 in the Kentucky case mentioned above and the appeal has been dismissed. In October 2020, 3M defended a respirator case before a jury in King County, Washington, involving a former shipyard worker who alleged 3M’s 8710 respirator was defective and that 3M acted negligently in failing to protect him against asbestos fibers. The jury delivered a complete defense verdict in favor of 3M, concluding that the 8710 respirator was not defective in design or warnings and any conduct by 3M was not a cause of plaintiff’s mesothelioma. The plaintiff appealed the verdict. In May 2022, the First Division intermediate appellate court in Washington affirmed in part and reversed in part 3M’s trial victory, concluding that the trial court misapplied Washington law in instructing the jury about factual causation. The Washington Supreme Court declined to review the matter.
The Company has demonstrated in these past trial proceedings that its respiratory protection products are effective as claimed when used in the intended manner and in the intended circumstances. Consequently, the Company believes that claimants are unable to establish that their medical conditions, even if significant, are attributable to the Company’s respiratory protection products. Nonetheless, the Company’s litigation experience indicates that claims of persons alleging more serious injuries, including mesothelioma, other malignancies, and black lung disease, are costlier to resolve than the claims of unimpaired persons, and it therefore believes the average cost of resolving pending and future claims on a per-claim basis will continue to be higher than it experienced in prior periods when the vast majority of claims were asserted by medically unimpaired claimants. Since the second half of 2020, the Company has experienced an increase in the number of cases filed that allege injuries from exposures to coal mine dust; that increase represents the substantial majority of the growth in case numbers referred to above.
As previously reported, the State of West Virginia, through its Attorney General, filed a complaint in 2003 against the Company and two other manufacturers of respiratory protection products in the Circuit Court of Lincoln County, West Virginia, and amended its complaint in 2005. The amended complaint seeks substantial, but unspecified, compensatory damages primarily for reimbursement of the costs allegedly incurred by the State for worker’s compensation and healthcare benefits provided to all workers with occupational pneumoconiosis and unspecified punitive damages. In October 2019, the court granted the State’s motion to sever its unfair trade practices claim, which seeks civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation under the state's Consumer Credit Protection Act relating to statements that the State contends were misleading about 3M’s respirators. A bench trial for the unfair trade practices claims has been rescheduled for late February 2023. An expert witness retained by the State has recently estimated that 3M sold over five million respirators into the state during the relevant time period, and the State alleges that each respirator sold constitutes a separate violation under the Act. 3M disputes the expert's estimates and the State's position regarding what constitutes a separate violation of the Act. 3M has asserted various additional defenses, including that the Company's marketing did not violate the Act at any time, and that the State's claims are barred under the applicable statute of limitations. No liability has been recorded for any portion of this matter because the Company believes that liability is not probable and reasonably estimable at this time. In addition, the Company is not able to estimate a possible loss or range of loss given the lack of any meaningful discovery responses by the State of West Virginia as to key issues, and the assertions of claims against two other manufacturers where a defendant’s share of liability may turn on the law of joint and several liability and by the amount of fault, if any, a factfinder may allocate to each defendant if the case were ultimately tried.
Respirator Mask/Asbestos Liabilities and Insurance Receivables
The Company regularly conducts a comprehensive legal review of its respirator mask/asbestos liabilities. The Company reviews recent and historical claims data, including without limitation, (i) the number of pending claims filed against the Company, (ii) the nature and mix of those claims (i.e., the proportion of claims asserting usage of the Company’s mask or respirator products and alleging exposure to each of asbestos, silica, coal or other occupational dusts, and claims pleading use of asbestos-containing products allegedly manufactured by the Company), (iii) the costs to defend and resolve pending claims, and (iv) trends in filing rates and in costs to defend and resolve claims, (collectively, the “Claims Data”). As part of its comprehensive legal review, the Company regularly provides the Claims Data to a third party with expertise in determining the impact of Claims Data on future filing trends and costs. The third party assists the Company in estimating the costs to defend and resolve pending and future claims. The Company uses these estimates to develop its best estimate of probable liability.
Developments may occur that could affect the Company’s estimate of its liabilities. These developments include, but are not limited to, significant changes in (i) the key assumptions underlying the Company’s accrual, including, the number of future claims, the nature and mix of those claims, the average cost of defending and resolving claims, and in maintaining trial readiness (ii) trial and appellate outcomes, (iii) the law and procedure applicable to these claims, and (iv) the financial viability of other co-defendants and insurers.
As a result of its review of its respirator mask/asbestos liabilities, of pending and expected lawsuits and of the cost of resolving claims of persons who claim more serious injuries, including mesothelioma, other malignancies, and black lung disease, the Company increased its accruals in 2022 for respirator mask/asbestos liabilities by $31 million. In 2022, the Company made payments for legal defense costs and settlements of $67 million related to the respirator mask/asbestos litigation. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had an accrual for respirator mask/asbestos liabilities (excluding Aearo accruals) of $604 million. This accrual represents the Company’s best estimate of probable loss and reflects an estimation period for future claims that may be filed against the Company approaching the year 2050. The Company cannot estimate the amount or upper end of the range of amounts by which the liability may exceed the accrual the Company has established because of the (i) inherent difficulty in projecting the number of claims that have not yet been asserted or the time period in which future claims may be asserted, (ii) the complaints nearly always assert claims against multiple defendants where the damages alleged are typically not attributed to individual defendants so that a defendant’s share of liability may turn on the law of joint and several liability, which can vary by state, (iii) the multiple factors described above that the Company considers in estimating its liabilities, and (iv) the several possible developments described above that may occur that could affect the Company’s estimate of liabilities.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company’s receivable for insurance recoveries related to the respirator mask/asbestos litigation was $4 million. In addition, the Company continues to seek coverage under the policies of certain insolvent and other insurers. Once those claims for coverage are resolved, the Company will have collected substantially all of its remaining insurance coverage for respirator mask/asbestos claims.
Respirator Mask/Asbestos Litigation — Aearo Technologies
On April 1, 2008, a subsidiary of the Company acquired the stock of Aearo Holding Corp., the parent of Aearo Technologies (“Aearo”). Aearo manufactured and sold various products, including personal protection equipment, such as eye, ear, head, face, fall and certain respiratory protection products. Aearo and/or other companies that previously owned and operated Aearo’s respirator business (American Optical Corporation, Warner-Lambert LLC, AO Corp. and Cabot Corporation (“Cabot”)) are named defendants, with multiple co-defendants, including the Company, in numerous lawsuits in various courts in which plaintiffs allege use of mask and respirator products and seek damages from Aearo and other defendants for alleged personal injury from workplace exposures to asbestos, silica-related, coal mine dust, or other occupational dusts found in products manufactured by other defendants or generally in the workplace. In July 2022, Aearo Technologies and certain of its related entities (collectively, the "Aearo Entities") voluntarily initiated chapter 11 proceedings under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code seeking court supervision to establish a trust, funded by the Company, to efficiently and equitably satisfy all claims determined to be entitled to compensation (including the Aearo respirator mask/asbestos matters). This represents a change in strategy for managing the Combat Arms Version 2 earplugs and Aearo respirator mask/asbestos alleged litigation liabilities. As a result, 3M's accrual relative to the commitments associated with that trust includes Aearo respirator mask/asbestos matters. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court has stayed the Aearo respirator mask/asbestos litigation matters as the chapter 11 proceedings move forward. For additional information, see the discussion within the section "Product Liability Litigation" with respect to Aearo Technologies Dual-Ended Combat Arms Earplugs.
Preceding respirator mask/asbestos — Aearo Technologies matters/information:
Prior to the voluntary chapter 11 proceedings and as previously disclosed, as of December 31, 2021, the Company, through its Aearo subsidiary, had accruals of $46 million for product liabilities and defense costs related to current and future Aearo-related asbestos, silica-related and coal mine dust claims. Responsibility for legal costs, as well as for settlements and judgments, is shared in an informal arrangement among Aearo, Cabot, American Optical Corporation and a subsidiary of Warner Lambert and their respective insurers (the “Payor Group”). Liability is allocated among the parties based on the number of years each company sold respiratory products under the “AO Safety” brand and/or owned the AO Safety Division of American Optical Corporation and the alleged years of exposure of the individual plaintiff. Aearo’s share of the contingent liability is further limited by an agreement entered into between Aearo and Cabot on July 11, 1995. This agreement provides that, so long as Aearo pays to Cabot a quarterly fee of $100,000, Cabot will retain responsibility and liability for, and indemnify Aearo against, any product liability claims involving exposure to asbestos, silica, or silica products for respirators sold prior to July 11, 1995. Because of the difficulty in determining how long a particular respirator remains in the stream of commerce after being sold, Aearo and Cabot have applied the agreement to claims arising out of the alleged use of respirators involving exposure to asbestos, silica or silica products prior to January 1, 1997. With these arrangements in place, Aearo’s potential liability is limited to exposures alleged to have arisen from the use of respirators involving exposure to asbestos, silica, or silica products on or after January 1, 1997. To date, Aearo has elected to pay the quarterly fee. Aearo could potentially be exposed to additional claims for some part of the pre-July 11, 1995 period covered by its agreement with Cabot if Aearo elects to discontinue its participation in this arrangement, or if Cabot is no longer able to meet its obligations in these matters.
Developments may occur that could affect the estimate of Aearo’s liabilities. These developments include, but are not limited to: (i) significant changes in the number of future claims, (ii) significant changes in the average cost of resolving claims, (iii) significant changes in the legal costs of defending these claims, (iv) significant changes in the mix and nature of claims received, (v) trial and appellate outcomes, (vi) significant changes in the law and procedure applicable to these claims, (vii) significant changes in the liability allocation among the co-defendants, (viii) the financial viability of members of the Payor Group including exhaustion of available insurance coverage limits, and/or (ix) a determination that the interpretation of the contractual obligations on which Aearo has estimated its share of liability is inaccurate. The Company cannot determine the impact of these potential developments on its current estimate of Aearo’s share of liability for these existing and future claims. If any of the developments described above were to occur, the actual amount of these liabilities for existing and future claims could be significantly larger than the amount accrued. Because of the inherent difficulty in projecting the number of claims that have not yet been asserted, the complexity of allocating responsibility for future claims among the Payor Group, and the several possible developments that may occur that could affect the estimate of Aearo’s liabilities, the Company cannot estimate the amount or range of amounts by which Aearo’s liability may exceed the accrual the Company has established.
Environmental Matters and Litigation
The Company’s operations are subject to environmental laws and regulations including those pertaining to air emissions, wastewater discharges, toxic or hazardous substances, and the handling and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes enforceable by national, state, and local authorities around the world, many for which private parties in the United States and abroad have rights of action. These laws and regulations can form the basis of, under certain circumstances, claims for the investigation and remediation of contamination, for capital investment in pollution control equipment, for restoration of and/or compensation for damages to natural resources, and for personal injury and property damage claims. The Company has incurred, and will continue to incur, costs and capital expenditures in complying with these laws and regulations, defending personal injury and property damage claims, and modifying its business operations in light of its environmental responsibilities. In its effort to satisfy its environmental responsibilities and comply with environmental laws and regulations, the Company has established, and periodically updates, policies relating to environmental standards of performance for its operations worldwide.
Under certain environmental laws, including the United States Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) and similar state laws, the Company may be jointly and severally liable, sometimes with other potentially responsible parties, for the costs of remediation of environmental contamination at current or former facilities and at off-site locations where hazardous substances have been released or disposed of. The Company has identified numerous locations, many of which are in the United States, at which it may have some liability for remediation of contamination. Please refer to the section entitled “Environmental Liabilities and Insurance Receivables” that follows for information on the amount of the accrual for such liabilities.
Environmental Matters
As previously reported, the Company has been voluntarily cooperating with ongoing reviews by local, state, federal (primarily the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)), and international agencies of possible environmental and health effects of various perfluorinated compounds, including perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) and other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (collectively PFAS).
As a result of a phase-out decision in May 2000, the Company no longer manufactures certain PFAS compounds including PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, and their pre-cursor compounds. The Company ceased manufacturing and using the vast majority of these compounds within approximately two years of the phase-out announcement and ceased all manufacturing and the last significant use of this chemistry by the end of 2008. The Company continues to manufacture a variety of shorter chain length PFAS compounds, including, but not limited to, pre-cursor compounds to perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS). These compounds are used as input materials to a variety of products, including engineered fluorinated fluids, fluoropolymers and fluorelastomers, as well as surfactants, additives, and coatings. Through its ongoing life cycle management and its raw material composition identification processes associated with the Company’s policies covering the use of all persistent and bio-accumulative materials, the Company continues to review, control or eliminate the presence of certain PFAS in purchased materials, as intended substances in products, or as byproducts in some of 3M’s current manufacturing processes, products, and waste streams.
3M announced in December 2022 it will take two actions: exiting all PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025; and working to discontinue the use of PFAS across its product portfolio by the end of 2025. 3M’s decision is based on careful consideration and a thorough evaluation of the evolving external landscape, including multiple factors such as accelerating regulatory trends focused on reducing or eliminating the presence of PFAS in the environment and changing stakeholder expectations.
PFAS Regulatory and Legislative Activity
Regulatory and legislative activities concerning PFAS are accelerating in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, and before certain international bodies. These activities include gathering of exposure and use information, risk assessment activities, consideration of regulatory approaches, and increasingly strict restrictions on various uses of PFAS in products and on PFAS in manufacturing emissions, in some cases moving towards non-detectable limits for certain PFAS compounds. Regulations of PFAS in emissions and in environmental media such as soil and water (including drinking water) are increasingly being set at levels that continue to decrease. Global regulations also appear to be increasingly focused on a broader group of PFAS, and may include those PFAS compounds used in current products. If such activity continues and regulations become final and enforceable, 3M may incur material costs to comply with new regulatory requirements or as a result of litigation or additional enforcement actions. Such regulatory changes may also have an impact on 3M’s reputation and may also increase its costs and potential litigation exposure to the extent legal defenses rely on regulatory thresholds, or changes in regulation influence public perception. Given divergent and rapidly evolving regulatory drinking water and other standards, there is currently significant uncertainty about the potential costs to industry and communities associated with remediation and control technologies that may be required.
Europe
In the European Union, where 3M has PFAS manufacturing facilities in countries such as Germany and Belgium, recent regulatory activities have included both preliminary and on-going work on various restrictions of PFAS or certain PFAS compounds under the EU’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and the EU’s Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation. PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS (and their related compounds) have also been listed in the Stockholm Convention, which has been ratified by more than 180 countries and aims for global elimination of certain listed substances (with narrow exceptions).
In January 2023, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) received a proposal for a broad restriction of PFAS as a class under REACH. ECHA has stated it expects to publish the proposal for public consultation in February 2023.
Effective January 2023, the EU Food Contaminants Regulation targeting four PFAS (PFOS, PFOA, PFNA, PFHxS) in foodstuff (eggs and animal derived meat) prohibits the sale in all member states of foods containing levels of these chemicals exceeding the regulatory thresholds. As member states implement the regulation, Dyneon, a 3M subsidiary that operates the Gendorf facility in Germany, in coordination with local authorities and farmers, has proposed a pilot program of food sampling to determine if any remedial action is necessary.
The EU regulates PFAS in drinking water via a Drinking Water Directive, which includes a limit of 0.1 micrograms per liter (µg/l) (or 0.1 parts for billion (ppb)) for a sum of 20 PFAS in drinking water. Member States have until January 2023 to implement the Directive in their countries.
Dyneon has a recycling process for a critical emulsifier from which small amounts of PFOA are present after recycling, as an unintended and unavoidable byproduct of certain earlier process steps. With respect to the applicability of the amendment of the EU POPs Regulation with PFOA applicable since 2021, Dyneon proactively consulted with the relevant German competent authority regarding process improvements underway. The implementation of process improvements and analytical work is ongoing.
3M Belgium, a subsidiary of the Company, has been working with the Public Flemish Waste Agency (OVAM) for several years to investigate and remediate historical PFAS contaminations at and near the 3M Belgium facility in Zwijndrecht, Antwerp, Belgium. In connection with a ring road construction project (the Oosterweel Project) in Antwerp that involved extensive soil work, an investigative committee with judicial investigatory powers was formed in June 2021 by the Flemish Parliament to investigate PFAS found in the soil and groundwater near the Zwijndrecht facility. 3M Belgium testified at Flemish parliamentary committee hearings in June and September 2021 on PFAS-related matters. The Flemish Parliament, the Minister of the Environment, and regulatory authorities initiated investigations and demands for information related to the release of PFAS from the Zwijndrecht facility. The Company has cooperated with the authorities in the investigations and information requests and is working with the authorities on an ongoing basis, as they continue to maintain oversight of 3M Belgium’s operations at the Zwijndrecht facility, as further discussed below. Separately, as previously disclosed, the Company is aware that certain residents of Zwijndrecht and non-governmental organizations filed a criminal complaint with an Antwerp investigatory judge against 3M Belgium, alleging it had unlawfully abandoned waste in violation of its environmental care obligations. Certain additional parties reportedly joined the complaint. 3M Belgium has not been served with any such complaint.
Safety measures – wastewater discharge. In August 2021, the Flemish Government served 3M Belgium with a safety measure requiring the capture of certain process wastewaters to prevent their entry into the site wastewater treatment plant. While 3M Belgium appealed the Safety Measure due to the belief it lacked adequate legal and factual foundation, 3M Belgium promptly implemented the required actions.
In October 2021, the Province of Antwerp unilaterally adopted lower discharge limits for the nine PFAS compounds specifically identified in the water discharge permit and added a special condition that essentially prohibits discharge of any PFAS chemistry without a specific limit in the permit. 3M Belgium received a new two-year permit in May 2022 which contains strict new limits for 24 different PFAS, effective July 1, 2022. 3M Belgium believes that the recently installed additional control systems will enable it to meet these limits. Subsequently, the environmental enforcement agency has recently informed 3M Belgium that the agency believes that 3M Belgium must apply for discharge limits for certain additional “short-chain” PFAS pursuant to the special condition. Although disagreeing with the agency’s position, 3M Belgium is in the process of developing the application to amend the permit to add the additional PFAS. 3M Belgium has insufficient information to predict the limits that will be set forth for additional short-chain PFAS and is therefore unable to assess whether the current or future wastewater treatment system, as currently conceived, will meet future limits imposed. In December 2022, 3M Belgium received an official infraction report from the Flemish Environmental Inspectorate regarding the discharge of certain short chain PFAS compounds in wastewater from the Zwijndrecht facility. 3M Belgium previously identified these compounds and shared the results with the Inspectorate. The compounds at issue do not have specific discharge limits in the applicable wastewater discharge permit, and the infraction report references a special condition in the permit that prohibits detectable discharge of PFAS compounds that do not have a specific discharge limit in the permit. 3M Belgium disagrees with the Inspectorate’s interpretation of the special condition and the time period permitted for compliance with it. Moreover, 3M Belgium instituted a capturing process to prevent wastewaters containing short chain PFAS identified in the infraction report from entering the treatment system or its discharge. 3M Belgium notified the Inspectorate that complying with the special condition means ceasing the legally required extraction and treatment of contaminated groundwater. The Inspectorate acknowledged this fact but insisted that 3M Belgium continue to extract and treat groundwater. Groundwater treatment continues and 3M Belgium expects to apply for a modification of the water discharge permit to add parameters for the short chain PFAS. 3M Belgium will continue its efforts to comply with the special condition and to minimize discharge of all PFAS, including the PFAS identified in the infraction report, but an inability to meet discharge limits for short chain PFAS could have a significant adverse impact on 3M Belgium’s normal operations and the Company's businesses that receive products and other materials from the facility, some of which may not be available in similar quantities from other 3M facilities, which could in turn impact these businesses’ ability to fulfill supply obligations to their customers.
Safety measure – emissions. As previously disclosed, in October 2021, the Flemish environmental enforcement agency issued a new safety measure that prohibits all emissions of all forms of PFAS from the facility unless and until specifically approved on a process-by-process basis. 3M Belgium thereupon commenced an appeal process to the Council of States, seeking, among other things, urgent suspension of the safety measure during the pendency of the appeal process. At the same time, 3M Belgium complied with the safety measure by idling the affected production at the facility. The Council of States declined to grant urgent suspension of the safety measure. 3M Belgium established a regular cadence of meetings with the relevant authorities to review restart of specific PFAS-related production processes. The agency recently clarified that the safety measure applies to release of PFAS into water, and as such, reviews have been expanded as requested.
In October 2022, 3M Belgium received a report from the Flemish inspectorate regarding certain health and safety issues noted during inspections of the Zwjindrecht facility in March 2022, alleging certain related deficiencies, some dating back to 2010. In December 2022, 3M Belgium provided the inspectorate with responses to the allegations, including plans and timelines for compliance where applicable, and plans to continue to inform the inspectorate on corrective actions to be taken.
As of July 2022, the authorities have approved the restart of key production processes and 3M Belgium continues to conduct required monitoring and reporting activities. Belgian government authorities continue to maintain oversight of 3M Belgium’s operations and compliance with applicable requirements at the Zwijndrecht facility. In September 2022, the environmental enforcement agency issued an infraction report alleging that 3M Belgium had misconstrued an exemption in the safety measure and thus not fully complied with the safety measure in the operation of certain production lines. Discussions are underway with the environmental enforcement agency and those production lines are now being addressed in accordance with the review and approval provisions of the safety measure. Although the authorities have approved the restart and/or continued operation of key production processes, a negative development in their ongoing oversight review, or inability to fully restart all production processes, could have a significant adverse impact on 3M Belgium’s normal operations and the Company's businesses that receive products and other materials from the facility, some of which may not be available in similar quantities from other 3M facilities, which could in turn impact these businesses’ ability to fulfill supply obligations to their customers. A previously reported administrative measure by the Flemish Government regarding soil piles has been complied with and 3M Belgium removed the soil piles prior to the deadline.
Notice of default – environmental law compliance. Also in September 2021, the Flemish Region issued a notice of default alleging violations of environmental laws and seeking PFAS-related information, indemnity and a remediation plan for soil and water impacts due to PFAS originating from the Zwijndrecht facility. In September 2021, 3M responded to the notice of default and announced a plan to invest up to 125 million euros in the next three years in actions related to the Zwijndrecht community, including support for local commercial farmers impacted by restrictions on sale of agricultural products, and enhancements to site discharge control technologies. 3M is also committed to payment for ongoing off-site descriptive soil investigation and appropriate soil remediation. In March 2022, the Company announced an investment of 150 million euros to advance remedial actions to address legacy PFAS previously produced at the Zwijndrecht facility. An accredited third-party soil remediation expert has progressed towards a remedial action plan based on a descriptive soil investigation that would help inform 3M Belgium’s remedial actions onsite and in certain surrounding areas. 3M Belgium representatives continue to have discussions with the relevant authorities regarding further soil remedial actions in connection with the Flemish Soil Decree, which requires both public authorities and private parties to remediate contaminated soil and groundwater in Flanders. 3M Belgium cannot exclude the possibility of future government executive decisions expanding its remedial obligations under the Soil Decree, including through a proposed executive decision that may be finalized in 2023 following an anticipated advisory opinion from the Belgian administrative court. 3M Belgium submitted a letter to that court identifying several procedural and legal issues with the proposed executive decision. A response is planned to a notice received in January 2023 from the Flemish government regarding the remediation action plans under the Flemish Soil Decree.
In July 2022, 3M Belgium and the Flemish Government announced an agreement in connection with the Zwijndrecht facility. Pursuant to the agreement, 3M Belgium, among other things, committed an aggregate of 571 million euros, which includes the previous commitments described above. In aggregate, the commitment includes enhancements to site discharge control technologies, support for qualifying local farmers, amounts to address certain identified priority remedial actions (which may include supporting additional actions as required under the Flemish Soil Decree), funds to be used by the Flemish Government in its sole discretion in connection with PFAS emissions from the Zwijndrecht facility, and support for the Oosterweel Project in cash and support services. The agreement contains certain provisions ending current litigation and providing certain releases of liability for 3M, while recognizing that the Flemish Government retains its authority to act in the future to protect its citizenry. In connection with these actions, the Company recorded a pre-tax charge of approximately $500 million in the first half of 2022, with approximately $355 million in the second quarter of 2022.
Civil litigation - As of December 31, 2022, a total of nine actions against 3M Belgium are pending in Belgian civil courts. The cases include claims by neighboring and other companies for alleged soil and wastewater or rainwater contamination with PFAS; and tort liability claims and environmental injunction procedure by environmental NGOs and several hundred individuals. One of the actions has been rescheduled for judicial hearings in April 2023 and another is scheduled in February 2023; the other actions are in early stages.
The Netherlands government has indicated they are investigating potential claims to recover damages from companies related to alleged PFAS contamination in the Western Scheldt, a river that flows through Belgium and the Netherlands.
United States: Federal Activity
In the United States, the EPA has developed human health effects documents summarizing the available data studies of both PFOA and PFOS. In October 2021, EPA released its “PFAS Strategic Roadmap: EPA's Commitments to Action 2021-2024,” which presents EPA’s approach to PFAS, including investing in research to increase the understanding of PFAS, pursuing a comprehensive approach to proactively control PFAS exposures to humans and the environment, and broadening and accelerating the scope of clean-up of PFAS in the environment.
In June 2022, EPA released new final lifetime health advisory levels for PFBS (2,000 ppt) and HFPO-DA and its salts (“GenX”) (4 ppt), and new interim lifetime health advisory levels for PFOA (.004 ppt) and PFOS (.02 ppt). Lifetime health advisories are intended to provide information about concentrations of drinking water contaminants at which adverse health effects are not expected to occur over the specified exposure duration. The health advisories are non-enforceable and non-regulatory, but if EPA uses the same methodology in setting national primary drinking water standards, discussed further below, or other national or state regulations, 3M could incur additional costs and potential exposures, including in future compliance costs, possible litigation and/or enforcement actions.
In May 2021, the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) within the Department of Health and Human Services finalized a Toxicological Profile for certain PFAS that established minimal risk levels (MRLs) for PFOS, PFOA and several other PFAS. An MRL is an estimate of the daily human exposure to a hazardous substance that is likely to be without appreciable risk of adverse non-cancer health effects over a specified duration of exposure. MRLs establish a screening level and are not intended to define cleanup or action levels for ATSDR or other agencies. Earlier, in April 2021, EPA released a final toxicity assessment for PFBS.
In May 2022, EPA added five PFAS substances – HFPO-DA, PFOS, PFOA perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) -- to its list of Regional Screening and Removal Management Levels based on the May 2021 MRLs. EPA had previously added PFBS to both lists in 2014. Regional Screening Levels are used to identify contaminated media that may require further investigation, while Regional Removal Management Levels are used by EPA to support certain actions under CERCLA.
EPA began the process of establishing a national primary drinking water regulation for PFOA and PFOS in November 2021 by referring its proposed approach to developing a Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) to the Science Advisory Board (SAB) and soliciting public comment. The Company submitted initial comments in December 2021 and supplemental comments in January and February 2022. In August 2022, the Science Advisory Board published its final report analyzing EPA’s proposed approach to developing a MCLG. EPA submitted the draft MCL and MCLG for PFOA and PFOS to OMB for review in October 2022. EPA is expected to publish a proposed MCLG and national primary drinking water standard in early 2023. In November 2022, EPA published its final Drinking Water Contaminant Candidates List 5 (CCL 5), which includes a broad group of PFAS that are not currently subject to national primary drinking water regulations but which EPA is considering for regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). In December 2022, EPA issued guidance to states for incorporating PFAS requirements into the Clean Water Act National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, including recommendations to require PFAS monitoring and incorporating limits for PFAS in industrial discharges.
In October 2021, EPA announced it will initiate a rulemaking to designate four PFAS compounds as hazardous constituents under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Further, in September 2022, EPA published in the Federal Register its proposal to list PFOA and PFOS, including their salts and structural isomers, as CERCLA hazardous substances. 3M submitted comments on EPA’s proposal in November 2022. If CERCLA or RCRA designations are finalized and become enforceable, 3M may be required to undertake additional investigative or remediation activities where 3M conducts operations or where 3M has disposed of waste. 3M may also face additional litigation from other entities that have liability under these laws for contribution to clean-up costs other entities might have.
EPA has also taken several actions to increase reporting and restrictions regarding PFAS under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), which is a part of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. EPA has added more than 170 PFAS compounds to the list of substances that must be included in TRI reports as of July 2021. In December 2022, EPA published a proposed rule to adding PFAS subject to reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know Act (EPCRA) to the list of Lower Thresholds for Chemicals of Special Concern (Chemicals of Special Concern), which would require Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting of de minimis uses of those PFAS.
In January 2023, EPA issued a test order under TSCA to manufacturers, including the Company, requiring them to conduct certain health and safety testing related to HFPO, a PFAS, and submit the results to EPA. 3M has submitted its initial response.
In April 2022, EPA released draft Aquatic Life Criteria for PFOA and PFOS. These criteria, once finalized, may be used by states in developing water quality standards for protection of aquatic life under the Clean Water Act. 3M submitted comments on the draft criteria in July 2022.
United States: State Activity
Several state legislatures and state agencies have been evaluating or have taken actions related to cleanup standards, groundwater values or drinking water values for PFOS, PFOA, and other PFAS, and 3M has submitted various responsive comments. In Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Health in May 2017 stated that Health Based Values (HBVs) “are designed to reduce long-term health risks across the population and are based on multiple safety factors to protect the most vulnerable citizens, which makes them overprotective for most of the residents in our state.” As of 2021, the current HBVs are 35 ppt for PFOA, 15 ppt for PFOS, 47 ppt for PFHxS and 2 ppb for PFBS.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) published the final version of its PFAS Monitoring Plan in March 2022. Four 3M facilities - Cottage Grove, Maplewood, Hutchinson, and Woodbury - are among the 137 Minnesota facilities that are preliminarily scoped to be within the Monitoring Plan.
States with finalized drinking water standards for certain PFAS include California, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, Michigan, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Some other states have also been evaluating or have taken actions relating to PFOA, PFOS and other PFAS compounds in products such as food packaging, carpets and other products. For example, in June 2022, Colorado enacted a law which restricts the sale of certain consumer products, including carpets and furniture, fabric treatments, food packaging, and children’s products that contain intentionally added PFAS.
In October 2022, California passed legislation prohibiting the manufacture, distribution of sale of textiles and cosmetics containing certain PFAS. Additionally, in 2021 and 2022, California finalized its listing of PFOS (and its salts and transformation and degradation precursors) and PFOA as carcinogens, and PFNA as a reproductive toxicant under its Proposition 65 law. California has also proposed listing PFDA, PFHxS, and PFUNDA as reproductive toxicants under Proposition 65.
In the Summer of 2021, the State of Maine passed its Act To Stop Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Pollution, which bans intentionally added PFAS in products effective January 1, 2030 and requires broad reporting of products containing intentionally-added PFAS effective January 1, 2023. In December 2022, 3M submitted to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection a list of products containing intentionally added PFAS that have been sold in the U.S. in the past two years in compliance with the law.
In October 2020, 3M and several other parties filed notices of appeal in the appellate division of the Superior Court of New Jersey to challenge the validity of the New Jersey PFOS and PFOA regulations. In January 2021, the appellate division of the court denied the group’s motion to stay the regulations. The court heard oral argument in November 2022.
In March 2021, 3M filed a lawsuit against the New York State Department of Health, on the grounds that drinking water levels set by the agency for PFOS and PFOA should be vacated because they are arbitrary and did not comply with statutorily required processes. An oral argument on the merits was held in December 2021. In June 2022, the court issued a decision denying and dismissing the Company’s lawsuit on standing grounds. The Company has filed a notice of appeal in July 2022 and decided in January 2023 not to pursue the appeal
In April 2021, 3M also filed a lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to invalidate the drinking water standards EGLE promulgated under an accelerated timeline. In November 2022, the court granted 3M’s motion for summary judgment on the merits and invalidated EGLE’s rule based on its failure to properly consider relevant costs. The court stayed the effect of its decision pending appeal. EGLE appealed the decision in December 2022.
Between 2018 and 2022, seven states have enacted laws requiring written notification of firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) that contains PFAS, with most such laws providing for potential civil penalties for non-compliance. In November 2022, the Company identified it likely did not provide required notifications for some of its products, including its Scott Safety Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses. The Company began providing written notices with those products starting November 2022. In addition, the Company continues to work to determine the extent of any potential non-compliance, has made voluntary self-disclosures to states as applicable, and has expressed its willingness to work with those states to address and resolve any potential non-compliance. The Company cannot predict at this time the ultimate outcome or actions that may be taken by those states.
The Company cannot predict what additional regulatory actions in the United States, Europe and elsewhere arising from the foregoing or other proceedings and activities, if any, may be taken regarding such compounds or the consequences of any such actions to the Company, including to its manufacturing operations and its products. Given divergent and rapidly evolving regulatory standards, there is currently significant uncertainty about the potential costs to industry and communities associated with remediation and control technologies that may be required.
Litigation Related to Historical PFAS Manufacturing Operations in Alabama
As previously reported, 3M has resolved numerous claims relating to alleged PFAS contamination of properties and water supplies by 3M’s Decatur, Alabama manufacturing facility. In April 2019, 3M settled a lawsuit brought by the West Morgan-East Lawrence Water & Sewer Authority for $35 million, which will fund a new water filtration system, with 3M indemnifying the Water Authority from liability resulting from the resolution of certain lawsuits against the Water Authority alleging liability or damages related to 3M PFAS. In October 2021, 3M settled a class action brought by plaintiffs who were supplied drinking water by the Water Authority (the “Lindsey” case) for an immaterial amount. The court issued a final order approving the class settlement and dismissing the action in March 2022. In October 2021, 3M also reached agreements in principle to resolve litigation with the Tennessee Riverkeeper organization, the St. John plaintiff class, plaintiffs in the Stover, Owens, and Chandler matters. A court granted final approval of the St. John class settlement in April 2022, and plaintiffs in the Stover, Owens, and Chandler matters filed dismissals thereafter. In June 2022, the court dismissed the Tennessee Riverkeeper case with prejudice. In November 2021, 3M and the City of Decatur, Decatur Utilities and Morgan County executed a collaborative agreement under which the Company agreed to contribute approximately $99 million and also to continue to address certain PFAS-related matters in the area. The contribution relates to initiatives to improve the quality of life and overall environment in Decatur, including community redevelopment and recreation projects by the City, County and Decatur Utilities. It also includes addressing certain PFAS matters at the Morgan County landfill and reimbursement of costs previously incurred related to PFAS remediation. 3M will continue to address PFAS at certain other closed municipal sites at which the Company historically disposed waste and continue environmental characterization in the area. This work will complement the Interim Consent Order that 3M entered with ADEM in 2020 and includes sampling of environmental media, such as ground water, regarding the potential presence of PFAS at the 3M Decatur facility and legacy disposal sites, as well as supporting the execution of appropriate remedial actions. In March 2022, 3M reached a settlement agreement with plaintiffs in the Billings matter, resulting in dismissal of the case in August 2022. In August 2022, 3M reached an agreement to settle personal injury claims brought by 37 individual plaintiffs in the King matter. 3M continues to negotiate with individual property owners regarding claims relating to former 3M disposal sites and has resolved several such claims for an immaterial amount.
In September 2020, the City of Guin Water Works and Sewer Board (Guin WWSB) brought a lawsuit against 3M in Alabama state court alleging that PFAS contamination in the Guin water system stems from manufacturing operations at 3M’s Guin facility and disposal activity at a nearby landfill. Guin WWSB dismissed its lawsuit without prejudice in order to work with 3M to further investigate the presence of chemicals in the area; and in December 2021, the parties reached a settlement under which 3M agreed to contribute $30 million that will be used on a new treatment system for Guin’s drinking water and a new wastewater treatment facility. In March 2022, a new putative class action was filed in the Northern District of Alabama on behalf of Guin WWSB ratepayers. Defendants include 3M, the Guin landfill, the Guin WWSB, and some waste transporters. The case has been removed to federal court and was transferred to the AFFF MDL in December 2022.
In August 2022, Colbert County, Alabama, which opted out of the St. John settlement, filed a lawsuit against 3M and several co-defendants alleging that discharge from operations in Decatur, Alabama has contaminated the Tennessee River, from which the County withdraws its drinking water. The Company’s motion to dismiss was denied in December 2022.
State Attorneys General Litigation related to PFAS
As previously reported, several state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against 3M and other defendants that are now pending in a federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) court in South Carolina regarding Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), described further below. The lawsuits generally seek, on a state-wide basis: injunctive relief, investigative and remedial work, compensatory damages, natural resource damages, attorneys’ fees, and, where available, punitive damages related to the states’ response to PFAS contamination. Currently in the AFFF MDL, state attorneys general lawsuits have been brought against 3M on behalf of the people of the states of Alaska; New York; Ohio; New Jersey; New Hampshire; Vermont, Michigan; Mississippi; North Carolina; Massachusetts; Wisconsin; and on behalf of the people of the territory of Guam and Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.
There are also multiple state attorneys general lawsuits that are pending outside the AFFF MDL, as described below.
New Jersey. In March 2019, the New Jersey Attorney General filed two actions against 3M, DuPont, and Chemours on behalf of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), the NJDEP’s commissioner, and the New Jersey Spill Compensation Fund regarding alleged discharges at two DuPont facilities in Pennsville, New Jersey (Salem County) and Parlin, New Jersey (Middlesex County). 3M is included as a defendant in both cases because it allegedly supplied PFOA to DuPont for use at the facilities at issue. Both cases expressly seek to have the defendants pay all costs necessary to investigate, remediate, assess, and restore the affected natural resources of New Jersey. DuPont removed these cases to federal court. In June 2020, the court consolidated the two actions, along with two others brought by the NJDEP relating to the DuPont facilities, for case management and pretrial purposes. The parties are conducting discovery.
New Hampshire. In May 2019, the New Hampshire Attorney General filed two lawsuits alleging contamination of the state’s drinking water supplies and other natural resources by PFAS chemicals. As described above, one lawsuit was transferred to the AFFF MDL. The Company recently removed the other case to federal court and attempted to transfer it to the AFFF MDL, which was denied at this juncture in the litigation. The state has moved to remand the case back to state court, which remains pending.
Vermont. In June 2019, the Vermont Attorney General filed two lawsuits alleging contamination of the state’s drinking water supplies and other natural resources by PFAS chemicals. As described above, one lawsuit was transferred to the AFFF MDL. The other suit asserts PFAS contamination from non-AFFF sources and names 3M and several entities related to DuPont and Chemours as defendants. This suit is proceeding in state court, where the parties are engaging in discovery and the court has set a trial-ready date in October 2024.
In October 2022, the Vermont Attorney General amended the complaint in the non-AFFF lawsuit, to add claims related to PFBS and GenX and to add a claim under Vermont’s Waste Management Act, which was recently amended to add manufacturers as liable parties for the release or threatened release of hazardous materials (which in Vermont includes certain PFAS compounds).
Illinois. In March 2022, the Illinois Attorney General filed a lawsuit in Illinois state court against 3M alleging contamination of the state's natural resources by PFAS compounds disposed of by, or discharged, or emitted from 3M's Cordova plant. The complaint requests monetary damages, injunctive relief, civil penalties, a testing program, and a public outreach and information sharing program. The case was removed to federal court and 3M moved to transfer it to the AFFF MDL, which was denied at this stage in the litigation. The state has moved to remand the case back to state court. In January 2023, the Illinois Attorney General filed a new lawsuit against 3M and other defendants in Illinois state court, alleging contamination of a number of drinking water systems and natural resource damages at several sites statewide, and seeking to recover monetary damages, injunctive relief for remediation, civil penalties and other relief. The complaint states that the Attorney General is not seeking damages for AFFF by this lawsuit.
California. In November 2022, the California Attorney General filed a lawsuit in state court against 18 defendants, including the Company, alleging environmental contamination by PFAS chemicals and seeking injunctive relief, civil penalties, and damages for the costs of investigations, cleanup and remediation. The case has been removed to federal court, and the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has issued a conditional transfer order which, if finalized, would send the case to the AFFF MDL.
In addition to the above state attorneys general actions, several other states and the District of Columbia, through their attorneys general, have announced selection processes to retain outside law firms to bring PFAS-related lawsuits against certain manufacturers including the Company. In addition, the Company is in discussions with several state attorneys general and agencies, responding to information and other requests relating to PFAS matters and exploring potential resolution of some of the matters raised.
Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) Environmental Litigation
3M manufactured and marketed AFFF for use in firefighting at airports and military bases from approximately 1963 to 2002. As of December 31, 2022, 3,350 lawsuits (including approximately 34 putative class actions and more than 200 public water systems) alleging injuries or damages by AFFF use have been filed against 3M (along with other defendants) in various state and federal courts. As further described below, a vast majority of these pending cases are in a federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) court in South Carolina. Additional AFFF cases continue to be filed in or transferred to the MDL. Claims in the MDL are asserted by individuals, public water systems, putative class members, state and territorial sovereigns, and other entities. Plaintiffs seek a variety of relief in cases in the MDL, including, where applicable, damages for personal injury, property damage, water treatment costs, medical monitoring, natural resource damages, and punitive damages. The Company also continues to defend certain AFFF cases that remain in state court and is in discussions with pre-suit claimants for possible resolutions where appropriate.
In December 2018, the JPML granted motions to transfer and consolidate all AFFF cases pending in federal courts to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina to be managed in an MDL proceeding to centralize pre-trial proceedings. Over the past four years, the parties in the MDL have conducted substantial discovery, including ongoing master discovery and several rounds of discovery involving potential water supplier bellwether cases. In September 2022, the court selected the City of Stuart, Florida public water supplier case as the first bellwether trial, to begin in June 2023. The court has also directed the parties to submit a proposal for an initial set of personal injury bellwether cases. In September 2022, the court issued an order denying defendants’ MDL-wide summary judgment motions on the government contractor defense, which defense can be presented to a jury at future trials. The MDL court has repeatedly encouraged the parties to negotiate to resolve cases in the MDL. In October 2022, the court appointed a retired federal judge as mediator, who has held several initial mediation sessions with plaintiff and defense leadership in November and December 2022.
In June 2019, several subsidiaries of Valero Energy Corporation, an independent petroleum refiner, filed eight AFFF cases against 3M and other defendants, including DuPont/Chemours, National Foam, Buckeye Fire Equipment, and Kidde-Fenwal, in various state courts. Plaintiffs seek damages that allegedly have been or will be incurred in investigating and remediating PFAS contamination at their properties and replacing or disposing of AFFF products containing long-chain PFAS compounds. Two of these cases have been removed to federal court and transferred to the AFFF MDL. Five cases remain pending in state courts where they are stayed by agreement of the parties.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company is aware of approximately 50 other AFFF suits originally filed in various state courts in which the Company has been named a defendant. 3M anticipates that most of these cases will eventually be removed to federal court and transferred to the AFFF MDL; however, at least two personal injury cases are expected to remain pending in state courts.
Separately, the Company is aware of pre-suit claims or demands by other parties related to the use and disposal of AFFF, one of which purports to represent a large group of firefighters. The Company had discussions with certain potential pre-suit claimants and, as a result of such discussions, reached a negotiated resolution for an immaterial amount with the City of Bemidji in March 2021.
Other PFAS-related Product and Environmental Litigation
3M manufactured and sold various products containing PFOA and PFOS, including Scotchgard, for several decades. Starting in 2017, 3M has been served with individual and putative class action complaints in various state and federal courts alleging, among other things, that 3M’s customers’ improper disposal of PFOA and PFOS resulted in the contamination of groundwater or surface water. The plaintiffs in these cases generally allege that 3M failed to warn its customers about the hazards of improper disposal of the product. They also generally allege that contaminated groundwater has caused various injuries, including personal injury, loss of use and enjoyment of their properties, diminished property values, investigation costs, and remediation costs. Several companies have been sued along with 3M, including Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., Honeywell International Inc. f/k/a Allied-Signal Inc. and/or AlliedSignal Laminate Systems, Inc., Wolverine World Wide Inc., Georgia-Pacific LLC, E.I. DuPont De Nemours and Co., Chemours Co., and various carpet manufacturers.
In New York, 3M is defending 40 individual cases filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York and five additional individual cases filed in New York state court against 3M, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. (Saint-Gobain), Honeywell International Inc. and E.I. DuPont De Nemours and Co. (DuPont). Tonaga, Inc. (Taconic) is also a defendant in the state court actions. Plaintiffs allege that PFOA discharged from fabric coating facilities operated by non-3M entities (that allegedly had used PFOA-containing materials from 3M, among others) contaminated the drinking water in the Village of Hoosick Falls, the Town of Hoosick and Petersburg, New York. Plaintiffs in both the federal and state individual cases assert various tort claims for personal injury and property damage and in some cases request medical monitoring. In the federal court individual cases, the parties selected 24 claimants in May 2021 for a discovery pool, which was further narrowed to eight claimants in July 2022 for expert discovery. Additionally, 3M is defending a case in New York state court filed by the Town of Petersburgh in September 2022. Plaintiff alleges that 3M and several other manufacturers contributed to PFOA contamination in the town’s public water supply. 3M is also defending 13 cases in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York filed by various drinking water providers. The plaintiffs in these cases allege that products manufactured by 3M, DuPont, and additional unnamed defendants contaminated plaintiffs’ water supply sources with various PFAS compounds. 3M has filed answers in these cases and discovery is ongoing.
In Michigan, one consolidated putative class action is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan against 3M and Wolverine World Wide (Wolverine). The action arises from Wolverine’s allegedly improper disposal of materials and wastes, including 3M Scotchgard, related to Wolverine’s shoe manufacturing operations. Plaintiffs allege Wolverine used 3M Scotchgard in its manufacturing process and that chemicals from 3M’s product contaminated the environment and drinking water sources after disposal. 3M and Wolverine have agreed to settle the case with the plaintiffs, and 3M's share is not considered material, pending final court approval in March 2023.
In Alabama and Georgia, 3M, together with multiple co-defendants, is defending two state court cases brought by municipal water utilities, relating to 3M’s sale of PFAS-containing products to carpet manufacturers in Georgia. The plaintiffs in these cases allege that the carpet manufacturers improperly discharged PFAS into the surface water and groundwater, contaminating drinking water supplies of cities located downstream along the Coosa River, including Rome, Georgia and Centre, Alabama. These water utility cases have been proceeding through discovery. The City of Rome case has been scheduled for trial in June 2023. In September 2022, the Company reached an agreement with the Gadsden Water Works and Sewer Board to resolve a similar matter. This development, as with developments on other PFAS matters, was reflected in determining changes to 3M’s accrual for PFAS-related "other environmental liabilities." Another case originally filed in Georgia state court was brought by individuals asserting PFAS contamination by the Georgia carpet manufacturers and seeking economic damages and injunctive relief on behalf of a putative class of Rome and Floyd County water subscribers. This case has been removed to federal court, where the case is proceeding through discovery.
3M, together with co-defendants, is also defending another putative class action in federal court in Georgia, in which plaintiffs seek relief on behalf of a class of individual ratepayers in Summerville, Georgia who allege their water supply was contaminated by PFAS discharged from a textile mill. In May 2021, the City of Summerville filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit, which was granted in March 2022. This case is now proceeding through discovery.
In July 2022, a putative class action was filed against 3M and other PFAS manufacturers by The Utilities Board of Tuskegee on behalf of all drinking water utilities within Alabama whose finished drinking water has contained a detectable concentration level of PFOA, PFOS, GenX, or PFBS that exceed the June 2022 health advisory levels issued by the U.S. EPA. 3M filed a motion to dismiss the complaint in October 2022.
In California, 3M, Decra Roofing and certain DuPont-related entities were named as defendants in an action brought in state court by the City of Corona and a local utility authority, alleging PFAS contamination of the plaintiffs’ water sources and also referring to 3M's industrial minerals facility in Corona, California as a potential source of contamination. The court granted demurrers filed by Decra and the DuPont entities, while 3M answered the complaint in February 2022. The case is proceeding through discovery as to plaintiff and 3M. In June 2022, the Sacramento Suburban Water District filed a lawsuit in California federal court against 3M and certain other defendants, alleging PFAS contamination from 3M products generally. That case has now been transferred to the AFFF MDL. In October 2022, a putative class action was filed against the Company and other parties on behalf of individuals who have been drinking water from the Temescal Subbasin, from which the City of Corona gets its water, seeking injunctive relief, damages, and medical monitoring.
In North Carolina, the town of Pittsboro filed a lawsuit in January 2023 against 3M and other defendants in state court related to alleged PFAS contamination of its property and water supply. The complaint references AFFF as a potential source of alleged contamination.
In Delaware, 3M, is defending one putative class action brought by individuals alleging PFAS contamination of their water supply resulting from the operations of local metal plating facilities. Plaintiffs allege that 3M supplied PFAS to the metal plating facilities. DuPont, Chemours, and the metal platers have also been named as defendants. This case was removed to federal court, and in September 2022, the court dismissed all but plaintiffs’ negligence claim. Plaintiffs have filed a third amended complaint and the parties are currently negotiating a scheduling order to be proposed to the court.
In New Jersey, 3M is a defendant in an action brought in federal court by Middlesex Water Company, alleging PFAS contamination of its water wells. The Court denied 3M’s motion for summary judgment in October 2022 and has set a pre-trial conference for March 2023. A trial date has been set for October 2023. In September 2020, 3M was named a defendant in a similar lawsuit brought by the Borough of Hopatcong. In January 2021, 3M was named a defendant in another similar lawsuit brought by the Pequannock Township. Fact discovery has closed in both the Hopatcong and Pequannock matters, and expert discovery is set to commence in February 2023 (Hopatcong) and March 2023 (Pequannock). 3M, together with several co-defendants, is also defending 27 cases in New Jersey federal court brought by individuals with private drinking water wells near certain DuPont and Solvay facilities that were allegedly supplied with PFAS by 3M. These cases have all been coordinated for discovery, which is ongoing. Plaintiffs in ten of these cases seek medical monitoring and property damages. Plaintiffs in the 16 remaining individual cases in federal court allege personal injuries to themselves or their disabled adult children. In July 2022, Plaintiffs sought leave to amend their complaints in the first five cases to add claims concerning seven non-PFAS chemistries as against defendants other than 3M. Nine of the remaining personal injury cases were filed in state court and removed to federal court. Plaintiffs are currently seeking remand in four of these cases. In three of these cases, Plaintiffs also assert claims against Clemente Property and the Covanta Waste Disposal Facility. In December 2022, an additional personal injury case was filed in New Jersey State court. 3M and Middlesex Water Company are also defending a putative class action filed in New Jersey federal court in November 2021 by individuals who received drinking water from Middlesex Water Company that was allegedly contaminated with PFAS. The court denied 3M’s motion to dismiss, and the case is proceeding through discovery. In May 2022, Middlesex Water Company filed a third-party complaint against the Company in New Jersey state court in a putative class action of the state residents who are customers of the water company, seeking indemnity from the Company. After Middlesex Water Company removed the case to federal court in July 2022, plaintiffs filed a motion to remand the case to state court. The federal court stayed 3M’s deadline to respond to the third-party complaint until after the motion to remand is decided. Finally, in June 2022, a personal injury lawsuit was filed against 3M by a Middlesex Water Company customer. The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed his complaint without prejudice and later re-filed in the MDL.
In South Carolina, a putative class action lawsuit was filed in South Carolina state court against 3M, DuPont and DuPont related entities in March 2022. The lawsuit alleges property damage and personal injuries from contamination from PFAS compounds used and disposed of at the textile plant known as the Galey & Lord plant from 1966 until 2016. The complaint seeks remedies including damages, punitive damages, and medical monitoring. The case has been removed to federal court. Plaintiff recently filed a second amended complaint.
In Massachusetts, a putative class action lawsuit was filed in August 2022 in state court against 3M and several other defendants alleging PFAS contamination from waste generated by local paper manufacturing facilities. The lawsuit alleges property damage and also seeks medical monitoring on behalf of plaintiffs within the Town of Westminster. This case was removed to federal court. 3M anticipates responding to the complaint in the first quarter of 2023.
In Maine, a group of landowners filed a second amended complaint in October 2022 in federal district court, adding 3M and several other alleged chemical suppliers as defendants in a case previously filed against several paper mills, alleging PFAS contamination from waste generated by the paper mills. The lawsuit seeks to recover for alleged property damage.
In October 2018, 3M and other defendants, including DuPont and Chemours, were named in a putative class action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio brought by the named plaintiff, a firefighter allegedly exposed to PFAS chemicals through his use of firefighting foam, purporting to represent a putative class of all U.S. individuals with detectable levels of PFAS in their blood. The plaintiff brings claims for negligence, battery, and conspiracy and seeks injunctive relief, including an order “establishing an independent panel of scientists” to evaluate PFAS. In March 2022, the court certified a class of "[i]ndividuals subject to the laws of Ohio, who have 0.05 [ppt] of PFOA (C-8) and at least 0.05 ppt of any other PFAS in their blood serum." The judge ordered additional briefing to permit defendants to narrow the proposed nationwide class by “show[ing] what states do not recognize the type of claim for relief filed by” the plaintiff. In September 2022, the Sixth Circuit granted the defendants’ request to appeal the district court’s class certification order. Defendants’ appeal is scheduled to be fully briefed by April 2023.
Other PFAS-related Matters
In July 2019, the Company received a written request from the Subcommittee on Environment of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, seeking certain documents and information relating to the Company’s manufacturing and distribution of PFAS products. In September 2019, a 3M representative testified before and responded to questions from the Subcommittee on Environment with respect to PFAS and the Company’s environmental stewardship initiatives. The Company continues to cooperate with the Subcommittee.
The Company continues to make progress in its work, under the supervision of state regulators, to remediate historic disposal of PFAS-containing waste associated with manufacturing operations at its Decatur, Alabama; Cottage Grove, Minnesota; and Cordova, Illinois plants.
As previously reported, the Illinois EPA in August 2014 approved a request by the Company to establish a groundwater management zone at its manufacturing facility in Cordova, Illinois, which includes ongoing pumping of impacted site groundwater, groundwater monitoring and routine reporting of results. In June 2022, the Illinois EPA provided notice of the termination of the Cordova May 2000 Site Remediation Agreement. The Company continues to perform pumping of impacted site groundwater, groundwater monitoring and routine reporting of results to Illinois EPA. In addition, the Company is treating its pumped groundwater at its Cordova wastewater treatment plant.
In Minnesota, the Company continues to work with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) pursuant to the terms of the previously disclosed May 2007 Settlement Agreement and Consent Order to address the presence of certain PFAS compounds in the soil and groundwater at former disposal sites in Washington County, Minnesota (Oakdale and Woodbury) and at the Company’s manufacturing facility at Cottage Grove, Minnesota. Under this agreement, the Company’s principal obligations include (i) evaluating releases of certain PFAS compounds from these sites and proposing response actions; (ii) providing treatment or alternative drinking water upon identifying any level exceeding a HBV or Health Risk Limit (HRL) (i.e., the amount of a chemical in drinking water determined by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to be safe for human consumption over a lifetime) for certain PFAS compounds for which a HBV and/or HRL exists as a result of contamination from these sites; (iii) remediating identified sources of other PFAS compounds at these sites that are not controlled by actions to remediate PFOA and PFOS; and (iv) sharing information with the MPCA about certain perfluorinated compounds. In August 2009, the MPCA issued a decision adopting remedial options for the Company’s Cottage Grove manufacturing facility. In the spring and summer of 2010, 3M began implementing the approved remedial options at the Cottage Grove and Woodbury sites, and in late 2010, 3M commenced the approved remedial option at the Oakdale site. The Company has completed remediation work and continues with operational and maintenance activities at the Oakdale and Woodbury sites. Remediation work has been substantially completed at the Cottage Grove site, with operational and maintenance activities ongoing.
In Alabama, as previously reported, the Company entered into a voluntary remedial action agreement with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to remediate the presence of PFAS in the soil and groundwater at the Company’s manufacturing facility in Decatur, Alabama associated with the historic (1978-1998) incorporation of wastewater treatment plant sludge. With ADEM’s agreement, 3M substantially completed installation of a multilayer cap on the former sludge incorporation areas. Further remediation activities, including certain on-site and off-site investigations and studies, will be conducted in accordance with the July 2020 Interim Consent Order described below.
The Company operates under a 2009 consent order issued under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) (the “2009 TSCA consent order”) for the manufacture and use of two perfluorinated materials (FBSA and FBSEE) at its Decatur, Alabama site that prohibits release of these materials into “the waters of the United States.” In March 2019, the Company halted the manufacture, processing, and use of these materials at the site upon learning that these materials may have been released from certain specified processes at the Decatur site into the Tennessee River. In April 2019, the Company voluntarily disclosed the releases to the U.S. EPA and ADEM. During June and July 2019, the Company took steps to fully control the aforementioned processes by capturing all wastewater produced by the processes and treating all air emissions. These processes have been back on-line and in operation since July 2019. The Company continues to cooperate with the EPA and ADEM in their investigations and will work with the regulatory authorities to demonstrate compliance with the release restrictions.
The Company is authorized to discharge wastewater from its Decatur plant pursuant to a Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by ADEM. The NPDES permit requires monthly and quarterly reporting on the quality and quantity of pollutants discharged to the Tennessee River. In June 2019, as previously reported, the Company voluntarily disclosed to the EPA and ADEM that it had included incorrect values in certain of its monthly and quarterly reports. The Company has submitted the corrected values to both the EPA and ADEM.
As previously reported, as part of ongoing work with the EPA and ADEM to address compliance matters at the Decatur facility, the Company discovered it had not fully characterized its PFAS discharge in its NPDES permit. In September 2019, the Company disclosed the matter to the EPA and ADEM temporarily idled certain manufacturing processes at 3M Decatur, and installed wastewater treatment controls. The Company restarted idled processes in October 2019.
As a result of the Company’s discussions with ADEM to address these and other related matters in the state of Alabama, as previously reported, 3M and ADEM agreed to the terms of an interim Consent Order in July 2020 to cover all PFAS-related wastewater discharges and air emissions from the Company’s Decatur facility. Under the interim Consent Order, the Company’s principal obligations include commitments related to (i) future ongoing site operations such as (a) providing notices or reports and performing various analytical and characterization studies and (b) future capital improvements; and (ii) remediation activities, including on-site and off-site investigations and studies. Obligations related to ongoing future site operations under the Consent Order will involve additional operating costs and capital expenditures over multiple years. As offsite investigation activities continue, additional remediation amounts may become probable and reasonably estimable.
As previously reported, in December 2019, the Company received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama for documents related to, among other matters, the Company’s compliance with the 2009 TSCA consent order and unpermitted discharges to the Tennessee River. The Company is cooperating and providing responsive documents with respect to this and other inquiries regarding its manufacturing facilities.
In addition, as previously reported, as part of its ongoing evaluation of regulatory compliance at its Cordova, Illinois facility, the Company discovered it had not fully characterized its PFAS discharge in its NPDES permit for the Cordova facility. In November 2019, the Company disclosed this matter to the EPA, and in January 2020 disclosed this matter to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), submitted an NPDES permit application for the PFAS in its discharge, and in October 2019, put on-line and in operation wastewater treatment specifically designed to treat PFAS. The Company continues to work with the EPA and IEPA to address these issues from the Cordova facility. In November 2022, the Company entered into an SDWA Administrative Consent Order that requires the Company to continue to sample and survey private and public drinking water wells within the vicinity of the Cordova facility, provide treatment of private water wells within a three-mile radius of the Cordova facility, and to provide alternate treatment/supply for the Camanche, Iowa public drinking water system.
In April 2022, the Company received a TSCA information request from EPA seeking information related to the operation of specific PFAS-related processes, and the Company is cooperating with this inquiry and is producing documents and information. In May 2022, the Company received a notice of potential violation and opportunity to confer and a notice of intent to file a complaint from EPA alleging violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) related to the use of emergency spill containment units associated with certain chemical processes at the Cordova facility.
The Company is also reviewing operations at its other plants with similar manufacturing processes, such as the plant in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, to ensure those operations are in compliance with applicable environmental regulatory requirements and Company policies and procedures. As a result of these reviews, as previously reported, the Company discovered it had not fully characterized its PFAS discharge in its NPDES permit for the Cottage Grove facility. In March 2020, the Company disclosed this matter to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the EPA. In July 2020, the Company received an information request from MPCA for documents and information related to, among other matters, the Company’s compliance with the Clean Water Act at its Cottage Grove facility. The Company is cooperating with this inquiry and is producing documents and information in response to the request for information.
Separately, as previously reported, in June 2020, the Company reported to EPA and MPCA that it had not fully complied with elements of the inspection, characterization and waste stream profile verification process of the Waste and Feedstream Analysis Plan (WAP/FAP) of its RCRA permit for its Cottage Grove incinerator. The Company and MPCA resolved the issues associated with the foregoing disclosure in a May 2022 stipulation agreement, and permanently retired the Cottage Grove hazardous waste incinerator in December 2021. In connection with the now closed incinerator, the Company in December 2022 received from EPA a draft Consent Agreement and Penalty Order (CAFO) under the Clean Air Act, with a proposed civil penalty to resolve issues raised in a Finding of Violation issued in 2019. The Company is engaging with EPA in discussions towards resolving this matter. In October 2021, the Company received information requests from MPCA seeking additional toxicological and other information related to certain PFAS compounds. The Company is cooperating with these inquires and is producing documents and information in response to the requests. In June 2022, MPCA directed that the Company address the presence of PFAS in its stormwater discharge from the Cottage Grove facility. The Company worked with MPCA to develop a plan to address its stormwater, which is embodied in an order issued by MPCA in December 2022.
In February 2020, as previously reported, the Company received an information request from EPA for documents and information related to, among other matters, the Company’s compliance with the Clean Water Act at its facilities that manufacture, process, and use PFAS, including the Decatur, Cordova, and Cottage Grove facilities, and the Company has completed its production of responsive documents and information.
The Company continues to work with relevant federal and state agencies (including EPA, the U.S. Department of Justice, state environmental agencies and state attorneys general) as it conducts these reviews and responds to information, inspection, and other requests from the agencies. The Company cannot predict at this time the outcomes of resolving these compliance matters, what actions may be taken by the regulatory agencies or the potential consequences to the Company.
Other Environmental Litigation
In July 2018, the Company, along with more than 120 other companies, was served with a complaint seeking cost recovery and contribution towards the cleaning up of approximately eight miles of the Lower Passaic River in New Jersey. The plaintiff, Occidental Chemical Corporation, alleges that it agreed to design and pay the estimated $165 million cost to remove and cap sediment containing eight chemicals of concern, including PCBs and dioxins. The complaint seeks to spread those costs among the defendants, including the Company. The Company’s involvement in the case relates to its past use of two commercial drum conditioning facilities in New Jersey. Whether, and to what extent, the Company may be required to contribute to the costs at issue in the case remains to be determined.
For environmental matters and litigation described above, unless otherwise described below, no liability has been recorded as the Company believes liability in those matters is not probable and reasonably estimable and the Company is not able to estimate a possible loss or range of possible loss at this time. The Company’s environmental liabilities and insurance receivables are described below.
Environmental Liabilities and Insurance Receivables
The Company periodically examines whether the contingent liabilities related to the environmental matters and litigation described above are probable and reasonably estimable based on experience and ongoing developments in those matters, including discussions regarding negotiated resolutions. During 2022, as a result of ongoing review and recent developments in ongoing environmental matters and litigation, the Company increased its accrual for PFAS-related other environmental liabilities by $659 million since December 31, 2021 and made related payments of $479 million. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had recorded liabilities of $592 million for “other environmental liabilities.” The accruals represent the Company’s best estimate of the probable loss in connection with the environmental matters and PFAS-related matters and litigation described above. The Company is not able to estimate a possible loss or range of possible loss in excess of the established accruals at this time.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had recorded liabilities of $29 million for estimated non-PFAS related “environmental remediation” costs to clean up, treat, or remove hazardous substances at current or former 3M manufacturing or third-party sites. The Company evaluates available facts with respect to each individual site each quarter and records liabilities for remediation costs on an undiscounted basis when they are probable and reasonably estimable, generally no later than the completion of feasibility studies or the Company’s commitment to a plan of action. Liabilities for estimated costs of environmental remediation, depending on the site, are based primarily upon internal or third-party environmental studies, and estimates as to the number, participation level and financial viability of any other potentially responsible parties, the extent of the contamination and the nature of required remedial actions. The Company adjusts recorded liabilities as further information develops or circumstances change. The Company expects that it will pay the amounts recorded over the periods of remediation for the applicable sites, currently ranging up to 20 years.
It is difficult to estimate the cost of environmental compliance and remediation given the uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of applicable environmental laws and regulations, the extent of environmental contamination and the existence of alternative cleanup methods. Developments may occur that could affect the Company’s current assessment, including, but not limited to: (i) changes in the information available regarding the environmental impact of the Company’s operations and products; (ii) changes in environmental regulations, changes in permissible levels of specific compounds in drinking water sources, or changes in enforcement theories and policies, including efforts to recover natural resource damages; (iii) new and evolving analytical and remediation techniques; (iv) success in allocating liability to other potentially responsible parties; and (v) the financial viability of other potentially responsible parties and third-party indemnitors. For sites included in both “environmental remediation liabilities” and “other environmental liabilities,” at which remediation activity is largely complete and remaining activity relates primarily to operation and maintenance of the remedy, including required post-remediation monitoring, the Company believes the exposure to loss in excess of the amount accrued would not be material to the Company’s consolidated results of operations or financial condition. However, for locations at which remediation activity is largely ongoing, the Company cannot estimate a possible loss or range of possible loss in excess of the associated established accruals for the reasons described above.
The Company has both pre-1986 general and product liability occurrence coverage and post-1985 occurrence reported product liability and other environmental coverage for environmental matters and litigation. As of December 31, 2022, the Company’s receivable for insurance recoveries related to the environmental matters and litigation was $8 million. Various factors could affect the timing and amount of recovery of this and future expected increases in the receivable, including (i) delays in or avoidance of payment by insurers; (ii) the extent to which insurers may become insolvent in the future, (iii) the outcome of negotiations with insurers, and (iv) the scope of the insurers’ purported defenses and exclusions to avoid coverage.
Product Liability Litigation
Aearo Technologies sold Dual-Ended Combat Arms – Version 2 earplugs starting in about 2003. 3M acquired Aearo Technologies in 2008 and sold these earplugs from 2008 through 2015, when the product was discontinued. 3M and Aearo Technologies believe the Combat Arms Earplugs were effective and safe when used properly, but nevertheless, as discussed below, face litigation from approximately 232,000 claimants. As noted in the "Respirator Mask/Asbestos Litigation — Aearo Technologies" section above, in July 2022, the Aearo Entities voluntarily initiated chapter 11 proceedings under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code seeking court supervision to establish a trust, funded by the Company, to efficiently and equitably satisfy all claims determined to be entitled to compensation associated with these matters and those described in the earlier section "Respirator Mask/Asbestos Litigation — Aearo Technologies". 3M entered into an agreement with the Aearo Entities to fund this trust and to support the Aearo Entities as they continue to operate during the chapter 11 proceedings. 3M has committed $1.0 billion to fund this trust and has committed an additional $0.2 billion to fund projected related case expenses. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company will provide additional funding if required by the Aearo Entities. Related to these actions, which represent a change in strategy for managing the Combat Arms Version 2 earplugs and Aearo respirator mask/asbestos alleged litigation liabilities, 3M reflected a pre-tax charge of $1.2 billion (within selling, general and administrative expenses), inclusive of fees and net of related existing accruals, in the second quarter of 2022.
As a result of the bankruptcy proceedings, 3M deconsolidated the Aearo Entities in the third quarter of 2022, resulting in a charge that was not material to 3M. Upon the filings in late July 2022 in the U.S Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, all litigation against Aearo Entities that filed chapter 11 cases is automatically stayed.
The Aearo Entities have also requested that the Bankruptcy Court confirm that Combat Arms Earplugs litigation against the Company is also stayed or order it enjoined. In August 2022, the Bankruptcy Court denied Aearo’s motion for a preliminary injunction to stay all Combat Arms related litigation against 3M. In September 2022, the bankruptcy judge certified Aearo’s request to appeal the decision directly to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and in October the Seventh Circuit accepted the appeal. In December 2022, Aearo filed its opening brief with the Seventh Circuit appealing the bankruptcy court’s decision. Also in December 2022, the parties to the Aearo bankruptcy agreed to extend the exclusivity period for Aearo to file a plan for reorganization to March 31, 2023. Confidential mediation is underway with court-appointed mediators and settlement discussions between Aearo and the plaintiffs are ongoing. As noted in the co-mediators' report issued on January 20, 2023, 3M continues to support Aearo Entities by engaging in confidential mediation discussions toward a resolution of the Combat Arms Earplugs litigation in the chapter 11 process. In February 2023, the plaintiffs filed with the Bankruptcy Court a motion to dismiss the bankruptcy filings of Aearo Entities.
As of December 31, 2022 3M's consolidated balance sheet reflected amounts associated with the deconsolidated Aearo Entities as follows:
•$0.7 billion asset balance in equity and other investments (within other assets), reflecting 3M's equity investment interest in the entities.
•$0.6 billion net liability for former intercompany amounts due from 3M to the deconsolidated entities. The gross balances are reflected in other liabilities ($0.9 billion) and other assets ($0.3 billion).
•$1.2 billion accrued liability related to the commitments describe above, largely reflected within contingent liability claims and other (within other liabilities) on 3M's consolidated balance sheet.
Preceding Combat Arms Earplugs matters:
In December 2018, a military veteran filed an individual lawsuit against 3M in the San Bernardino Superior Court in California alleging that he sustained personal injuries while serving in the military caused by 3M’s Dual-Ended Combat Arms earplugs – Version 2. The plaintiff asserts claims of product liability and fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment. The plaintiff seeks various damages, including medical and related expenses, loss of income, and punitive damages.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company is a named defendant in lawsuits (including 14 putative class actions) in various state and federal courts that purport to represent approximately 141,000 individual claimants making similar allegations. The significant increase from year-end 2021 in the number of claimants is largely due to the number of claims moved from the administrative docket to the active docket as the result of the transition orders the multi-district litigation (MDL) judge began issuing at the end of 2021 (as more fully described below), in addition to claims filed directly on the active docket in 2022. In April 2019, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation granted motions to transfer and consolidate all cases pending in federal courts to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida to be managed in an MDL proceeding to centralize pre-trial proceedings. The plaintiffs and 3M filed preliminary summary judgment motions on the government contractor defense. In July 2020, the MDL court granted the plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion and denied the defendants’ summary judgment motion, ruling that plaintiffs’ claims are not barred by the government contractor defense. The court denied the Company’s request to immediately certify the summary judgment ruling for appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. In December 2020, the court granted the plaintiffs’ motion to consolidate three plaintiffs for the first bellwether trial, which began in March 2021.
In April 2021, 3M received an adverse jury verdict in the first bellwether trial. The jury awarded the three plaintiffs less than $1 million in compensatory damages and $6 million in punitive damages for a total of $7 million. 3M appealed the verdicts, challenging, among other rulings, the MDL court's denial of 3M’s motion to assert the government contractor defense. The next two bellwether trials occurred in May and June of 2021. In May 2021, 3M received a verdict in its favor in the second bellwether trial, in which a jury rejected claims that 3M knowingly sold earplugs with design defects. In June 2021, 3M received an adverse verdict in the third bellwether trial. The jury found 3M liable for strict liability failure to warn, but found 3M not liable for design defect or fraud. The jury apportioned fault 62 percent to 3M and 38 percent to the plaintiff for a total damage award of approximately $1 million. 3M appealed the verdict. In January 2023, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled oral argument for the appeals of the first and third bellwether trials for the week of May 1, 2023. In October 2021, 3M received an adverse verdict in the fourth bellwether trial, in which a jury awarded $8 million to the plaintiff. 3M received verdicts in its favor in the fifth and sixth bellwether trials. 3M received an adverse verdict in the seventh and eighth bellwether trials, in which the juries awarded the plaintiffs $13 million and $23 million, respectively. A post-trial order reduced the award in the seventh bellwether trial to $8 million. 3M prevailed in the ninth and tenth bellwether cases but received adverse verdicts in the eleventh bellwether case in which the jury awarded each of the two plaintiffs $15 million in compensatory and $40 million in punitive damages. A post-trial order reduced the compensatory and punitive damages award to one of the plaintiffs from $55 million to $22 million. 3M received adverse verdicts in the twelfth and thirteenth bellwether cases in which the jury awarded one plaintiff with $50 million and another with $8 million in compensatory damages. 3M prevailed in the fourteenth bellwether trial. Plaintiff in the fourteenth bellwether trial has filed a notice of appeal. In December 2022, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed her Eleventh Circuit appeal of a jury verdict in favor of 3M and Aearo. No other cases that resulted in a defense verdict are on appeal before the Eleventh Circuit at this time. In April 2022, a jury returned a plaintiff’s verdict in the fifteenth bellwether trial, awarding $2.2 million in compensatory damages and declining to award punitive damages. A post-trial order reduced the compensatory damages award to $1.2 million. In May 2022, a jury returned a plaintiff’s verdict in the last scheduled federal bellwether trial. The jury awarded $5 million in compensatory damages and $72 million in punitive damages. These trials have not included several bellwether cases that plaintiffs' counsel dismissed with prejudice either during discovery or after being set for trial. The Company's appeals to the Eleventh Circuit from the adverse verdicts are proceeding forward, with oral argument on the first two appeals scheduled for May 2023. Other than the Company's funding commitment for its Aearo subsidiaries' chapter 11 proceedings as described above, no liability has been recorded for the Combat Arms earplugs litigation because the Company believes any such liability is not probable and reasonably estimable and the Company is not able to estimate a possible loss or range of possible loss at this time. Following conclusion of the bellwether trial process and unsuccessful settlement discussions, and with another 2,000 cases being prepared for trial while the Company's appeals are still pending, the Aearo Entities and the Company adopted a change in strategy for managing these alleged litigation liabilities that led to the Aearo Entities initiating the chapter 11 proceedings as discussed above. An administrative docket of approximately 90,700 unfiled and unverified claims has also been maintained at the MDL court. The MDL court in August 2021 provided notice of an intent to issue forthcoming transition orders requiring all claims be moved off the administrative docket to the active docket on a rolling basis over 12 months. The orders will provide that any case not moved to the active docket will be dismissed without prejudice, and the administrative docket will then be closed. The MDL court also ordered the parties to prepare for trial 2,000 cases in four waves of 500 cases over the next 14 months. After the preparation of these cases is completed, the cases will be remanded to the federal district courts where the cases were originally filed. In October 2022, the MDL court ordered that while the successor liability issue described below is on appeal, all wave discovery would be stayed, the transition of cases from the administrative docket to the active docket would stop, and that monthly settlement conferences involving all parties (except Aearo) would occur in the MDL. In January 2023, the MDL judge ordered that the MDL mediation would stop while the bankruptcy court mediation is ongoing.
The court ordered a three-day mediation in July 2022; and again in September 2022, a two-day mediation session. The court also set the date for a single plaintiff trial for October 2022, which was postponed to February 2023, and then stayed. In August 2022, subsequent to Aearo’s chapter 11 filing, the MDL court issued an order prohibiting 3M from attempting to relitigate issues in the bankruptcy court and from financially supporting any collateral dispute regarding the MDL court’s previous rulings. 3M has appealed the order to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and made a motion to stay the order pending appeal. In October 2022, the Eleventh Circuit granted 3M’s motion to stay the order pending appeal. In January 2023, the Eleventh Circuit scheduled oral argument for this appeal for the week of May 1, 2023.
In September 2022, two MDL plaintiffs filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, seeking to permanently enjoin 3M from transferring assets, issuing dividends or completing the announced spin-off of its Health Care business, to allegedly preserve assets for the Combat Arms claimants. The Company has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit and an opposition to the injunction motion. In December 2022, the court dismissed the lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds. Also in December 2022, the MDL court granted plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment that successor liability, claiming that 3M is fully and independently liable for injuries allegedly caused by the CAEv2 and certified the order for appeal to the Eleventh Circuit. In January 2023, 3M sought the Eleventh Circuit’s acceptance of the appeal. 3M is also defending lawsuits brought primarily by non-military plaintiffs in state court in Hennepin County, Minnesota. 3M removed these actions to federal court, and the federal court remanded them to state court in March 2020. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled in October 2021 that the cases brought by non-military plaintiffs were properly remanded to state court, whereas the cases brought by military contractor plaintiffs who had received the Combat Arms Earplugs from the military should have remained in federal court. In November 2021, the Eighth Circuit granted 3M's unopposed motion to vacate the remand orders in the remaining appeals of military service member cases. The military service member cases are expected to be remanded to federal court and transferred to the MDL. There are approximately 40 lawsuits involving approximately 1,000 plaintiffs pending in the state court. The state court cases are subject to a bellwether case selection process. The first trial in Hennepin County was scheduled for October 2022, but has been postponed to July 2023.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company was a named defendant in approximately 5,258 lawsuits in the United States and one Canadian putative class action with a single named plaintiff, alleging that the Bair Hugger™ patient warming system caused a surgical site infection.
As previously disclosed, 3M is a named defendant in lawsuits in federal courts involving over 5,000 plaintiffs alleging that they underwent various joint arthroplasty, cardiovascular, and other surgeries and later developed surgical site infections due to the use of the Bair Hugger™ patient warming system. The plaintiffs seek damages and other relief based on theories of strict liability, negligence, breach of express and implied warranties, failure to warn, design and manufacturing defect, fraudulent and/or negligent misrepresentation/concealment, unjust enrichment, and violations of various state consumer fraud, deceptive or unlawful trade practices and/or false advertising acts.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) consolidated all cases pending in federal courts to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota to be managed in a multi-district litigation (MDL) proceeding. In July 2019, the court excluded several of the plaintiffs’ causation experts, and granted summary judgment for 3M in all cases pending at that time in the MDL. Plaintiffs appealed that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Plaintiffs also appealed a 2018 jury verdict in favor of 3M in the first bellwether trial in the MDL and appealed the dismissal of another bellwether case. A panel of the appellate court in August 2021 reversed the district court’s exclusion of the plaintiffs’ causation experts and the grant of summary judgment for 3M. The Company sought further appellate en banc review by the full Eighth Circuit court. In November 2021, the Eighth Circuit court denied 3M’s petition for rehearing en banc. In February 2022, the Company filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court. In May 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court declined 3M’s request to review the Eighth Circuit court’s decision. The MDL court has not yet issued a new case management order.
In February 2022, the MDL court ordered the parties to engage in any mediation sessions that a court-appointed mediator deems appropriate. Mediation sessions took place in May and August 2022 without success in resolving the litigation. Separately, in August 2021, the Eighth Circuit court affirmed the 2018 jury verdict in 3M’s favor in the only bellwether trial in the MDL.
In addition to the federal cases, there are five state court cases. Three are pending in Missouri state court and combine Bair Hugger product liability claims with medical malpractice claims. One of the Missouri cases was tried in September and October of 2022; the jury returned a verdict in 3M’s favor on all the claims. Another Missouri case is scheduled for trial in 2024. There is also one case in Etowah County, Alabama that combines Bair Hugger product liability claims with medical malpractice claims. 3M resolved for an immaterial amount the final state court case, which was filed in Hidalgo County, Texas.
As previously disclosed, 3M had been named a defendant in 61 cases in Minnesota state court. In January 2018, the Minnesota state court excluded plaintiffs’ experts and granted 3M’s motion for summary judgment on general causation. The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed the state court orders in their entirety and the Minnesota Supreme Court denied plaintiffs’ petition for review and entered the final dismissal in 2019, effectively ending the Minnesota state court cases.
In June 2016, the Company was served with a putative class action filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for all Canadian residents who underwent various joint arthroplasty, cardiovascular, and other surgeries and later developed surgical site infections that the representative plaintiff claims were due to the use of the Bair Hugger™ patient warming system. The representative plaintiff seeks relief (including punitive damages) under Canadian law based on theories similar to those asserted in the MDL.
For product liability litigation matters described in this section for which a liability has been recorded, the Company is not able to estimate a possible loss or range of possible loss in excess of the established accruals at this time.
Securities and Shareholder Litigation
In July 2019, Heavy & General Laborers’ Locals 472 & 172 Welfare Fund filed a putative securities class action against 3M Company, its former Chairman and CEO, current Chairman and CEO, and former CFO in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. In August 2019, an individual plaintiff filed a similar putative securities class action in the same district. Plaintiffs allege that defendants made false and misleading statements regarding 3M's exposure to liability associated with PFAS and bring claims for damages under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b-5 against all defendants, and under Section 20(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 against the individual defendants. In October 2019, the court consolidated the securities class actions and appointed a group of lead plaintiffs. In January 2020, the defendants filed a motion to transfer venue to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. In August 2020, the court denied the motion to transfer venue, and in September 2020, the defendants filed a petition for writ of mandamus to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In November 2020, the federal Court of Appeals granted 3M’s petition for a writ of mandamus and directed the New Jersey federal court to transfer the action to the Minnesota federal court. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the action in January 2021, and in September 2021, the Minnesota federal court granted 3M’s motion to dismiss the securities class action, which judgment is now final.
In October 2019, a stockholder derivative lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey against 3M and several of its current and former executives and directors. In November and December 2019, two additional derivative lawsuits were filed in a Minnesota state court. The derivative lawsuits rely on similar factual allegations as the putative securities class action discussed above. The Minnesota state court cases were consolidated and stayed pending a decision on the motion to dismiss in the securities class action, and the Minnesota state plaintiffs have agreed to further stay their action pending a decision on the motion to dismiss the federal derivative lawsuit discussed below. In October 2020, the derivative action pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey was dismissed, without prejudice, for failure to serve the complaint within the required time period.
In August 2020, a stockholder who had previously submitted a books and records demand filed an additional follow-on derivative lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey against 3M and several of its current and former executives and directors. This derivative lawsuit, having been transferred to Minnesota federal court, also relies on similar factual allegations as the putative securities class action discussed above. In February 2021, an additional stockholder derivative lawsuit was filed in the District of Minnesota, making similar factual allegations as the putative securities class action discussed above. The Minnesota federal court consolidated these federal derivative suits and stayed them pending and through any appeal of the securities class action dismissal. The Minnesota federal plaintiffs then filed an amended complaint in February 2022. The defendants moved to dismiss the consolidated federal derivative action in May 2022. Plaintiffs filed their opposition to the motion to dismiss in August 2022 and the defendants filed their reply brief in October 2022. Oral argument was held in January 2023.
Federal False Claims Act / Qui Tam Litigation
In October 2019, 3M acquired Acelity, Inc. and its KCI subsidiaries, including Kinetic Concepts, Inc. and KCI USA, Inc. As previously disclosed in the SEC filings by the KCI entities, in 2009, Kinetic Concepts, Inc. received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. In 2011, following the completion of the government’s review and its decision declining to intervene in two qui tam actions described further below, the qui tam relator-plaintiffs’ pleadings were unsealed.
The government inquiry followed two qui tam actions filed in 2008 by two former employees against Kinetic Concepts, Inc. and KCI USA, Inc. (collectively, the “KCI defendants”) under seal in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. As 3M has previously disclosed, one qui tam action (the Godecke case) was dismissed in January 2022. In the remaining action (the Hartpence case), the complaint contains allegations that the KCI Defendants violated the federal False Claims Act by submitting false or fraudulent claims to federal healthcare programs by billing for V.A.C.® Therapy in a manner that was not consistent with the Local Coverage Determinations issued by the Durable Medical Equipment Medicare Administrative Contractors and seeks monetary damages.
In June 2019, the district court entered summary judgment in the KCI Defendants’ favor on all of the relator-plaintiff’s claims. The relator-plaintiff then filed an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Oral argument in the Hartpence case was held in July 2020. The appellate court issued an opinion in August 2022 reversing the decision of the district court and remanding the case for further proceedings. The district court held a status conference in January 2023 where no case deadlines were set; the litigation remains in a pre-trial stage.
For the matters described in this section for which a liability has been recorded, the amount recorded is not material to the Company’s consolidated results of operations or financial condition.
Compliance Matter
The Company, through its internal processes, discovered certain travel activities and related funding and record keeping issues raising concerns, arising from marketing efforts by certain business groups based in China. The Company initiated an internal investigation to determine whether the expenditures may have violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) or other potentially applicable anti-corruption laws. The Company has retained outside counsel and a forensic accounting firm to assist with the investigation. In July 2019, the Company voluntarily disclosed this investigation to both the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission and is cooperating with both agencies. The Company is in discussions related to potential resolution but cannot predict at this time the ultimate outcome or actions that may be taken by the Department of Justice or Securities and Exchange Commission.