| Advertisement |
Dec. 21 (UPI) -- American products manufacturer 3M has announced a plan to stop using cancer-causing "forever chemicals" in all of its consumer goods by 2025. The company, which makes Post-it notes, N95 pandemic masks, and Scotch Brite cleaning supplies, said its decision was prompted after federal regulators designated PFAS chemicals as a hazardous substance under the U.S. Superfund -- a trust that Congress established decades ago to address pollution and environmental disasters.
Advertisement
The Minnesota-based company said it would "work to discontinue use of PFAS" after considering the "accelerating regulatory trends focused on reducing or eliminating the presence" of PFAS in the environment.
"While PFAS can be safely made and used, we also see an opportunity to lead in a rapidly evolving external regulatory and business landscape to make the greatest impact for those we serve," CEO Mike Roman said in a statement that also noted 3M had already stopped using PFAS in some products "over the past three years through ongoing research and development."
In use since the 1940s, PFAS chemicals are found everyday items like food packaging, non-stick frying pans, stain-resistant rugs, raincoats, and because of the chemicals the products are not biodegradable.
The U.S. government has never issued an outright ban on the chemicals and they are still being used to make a limited number of products.
However, manufacturers are now required to report cases in which high levels of PFAS escape into the environment as new products are made. Doing so alerts the Environmental Protection Agency, which would move swiftly to contain any danger to the public.
Long-term exposure to the chemicals has been linked to a higher risk of developing cancer and birth defects, but research continues into how much exposure could lead to the most serious health concerns.
As consumers have become more aware of the risks, alternative products have cropped up in the marketplace with non-PFAS packaging and containers like those used for drinking water.
The chemicals are so prevalent that off-gassing has led to their presence in the atmosphere, as shown by rainwater that's tested positive for low-level amounts.
More than 4,500 fluorine compounds are found in poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances, which carry serious health risks as the human body cannot easily eliminate them due to their strong carbon bonds.
In recent years, various industrial companies around the country have been accused of understating the dangers posed by PFAS, which has led to several lawsuits. In November, the state of California sued 3M, Dupont and more than a dozen other companies for allegedly concealing the impact to the environment for decades.
In 2018, 3M agreed to pay an $850 million settlement to Minnesota after the state alleged the company had polluted drinking water in the Twin Cities.
Last year the Biden administration began an effort to regulate industrial compounds after the EPA detected traces of toxic waste in public drinking water supplies and private wells.
On Tuesday, U.S. climate advocates hailed 3M's decision as a victory for the environment.
"For the sake of our health and our environment, we hope 3M will phase out PFAS production before 2025 and that other companies will follow suit," John Rumpler, the senior clean water director for Environment America, said in a statement.
Back in August, researchers at Northwestern University announced a breakthrough in which they found a way to eliminate the chemicals using cheap household products.
