(News Bulletin 247) – The American company is trying to reach an agreement to end this long and costly litigation, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The group’s action takes off on Wall Street in pre-opening.

Soon the end of the tunnel for 3M? The adhesives specialist, known for scotch tape or even post-it notes, is mired in several heavy legal files and in particular that with the American army.

Many veterans have accused the group of providing faulty earplugs, which would have caused hearing damage. More than 300,000 complaints have been filed according to news agencies. These earplugs were supplied to the military from the early 2000s until 2015 by a subsidiary of 3M, namely Aearo Technologies.

The company has always dismissed these accusations, objecting that the complainants had normal hearing and that “independent and third-party organizations” had concluded that the product was effective.

Nevertheless, according to information from Bloomberg and the wall street journal published on Sunday, 3M would have proposed to the plaintiffs’ lawyers to settle this dispute by paying a total of 5.5 billion dollars. According to close sources surveyed by Bloomberg, this sum of 5.5 billion dollars would be paid to the plaintiffs over five years. According to the wall street journalnegotiations are ongoing and the final amount has not been set in stone.

If the sum mentioned is substantial, the total bill could cost the American group much more in the absence of an agreement. Barclays mentioned a figure of 8 billion dollars, Bloomberg Intelligence 9.5 billion dollars. THE wall street journal even mentions estimates ranging from $10 billion to $15 billion.

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The other very heavy file of the PFAS

“It looks like 3M has negotiated a very good deal for itself, given that this litigation has hung over it for almost a decade,” Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, told Bloomberg.

Contacted by Bloomberg, a 3M spokesperson stressed that the company does not comment on rumors and speculation. This press information, however, propelled the 3M share on Wall Street which won more than 6% in pre-opening trading shortly before 2:15 p.m.

3M’s ability to absorb a heavy fine in this case of earplugs has been diminished by another heavy legal burden dragged by the American company, namely PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

These chemical compounds have various applications such as in mobile phones or semiconductors, and are sometimes nicknamed “eternal pollutants”. They are used by the group for their non-stick and waterproofing properties.

“Their toxicity is still unknown, but harmful and toxic effects on human metabolism have been observed for several PFAS and their carcinogenic nature is suspected”, explains the site viepublique.fr. 3M also announced at the beginning of the year that it intended to stop the production of these substances by the end of 2025.

More specifically, 3M is for example accused by the city of Stuart in Florida of having manufactured or sold fire-fighting foams containing PFAS which would have ended up contaminating the water of the community. Other municipalities also accuse it of having polluted drinking water, soil, food and caused diseases because of PFAS

In June, 3M had reached an agreement to settle the lawsuits on this dispute, which provides for payments spread over several years, from 10.5 billion to 12.5 billion dollars. This agreement must receive the approval of American justice, underlines the Wall Street Journal.