What 3M’s decision to stop making PFAS means for water providers

In December, 3M announced that it will stop making PFAS per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a group of thousands of chemicals it has produced for decades, by 2025.

3M’s announcement begs the questions of why the company is taking this action now, and what does it mean for water providers across the country. While there may not be one simple answer to the first question, it seems that 3M’s past actions have finally caught up to the company and that the legal efforts to expose the harms of PFAS, dating back to the first case in 1999, as laid out in the movie Dark Waters, have led to significant change.