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BASF to pay $316 million to settle PFAS 'forever chemicals' United States suit

German chemical company BASF said on Tuesday it reached a $316.5 million settlement with some U.S. public water supply that declared harmful permanently chemicals in firefighting foam made by the company polluted their water supplies.

The money provided by the settlement, which should be authorized by a federal judge, will assist cities, towns and other public water supply remediate contamination of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

PFAS are a class of chemicals used in countless customer and business products, including firefighting foams, non-stick pans and stain-resistant fabrics. They have actually been connected to cancers and other illness, and are typically called permanently chemicals because they do not easily break down in nature or the human body.

BASF stated in a declaration that the settlement does not make up an admission of liability or wrongdoing, and that it will look for to recover for the settlement through its many insurance policies.

The business stated it will pay about $4 million as part of the settlement in July, and will pay another $312.5 million in March.

BASF is among nearly 2 lots chemical companies that have dealt with claims brought by water systems over PFAS pollution in sprawling litigation that has actually been centralized in a South Carolina federal court.

The claims focus on PFAS that polluted groundwater after being sprayed in firefighting foams at fire homes and airports across the U.S.

. In 2023, those lawsuits led to more than $11 billion in settlements between U.S. water systems and significant chemical business consisting of 3M, Chemours, Corteva and DuPont de Nemours. In April, Johnson Controls system Tyco Fire Products agreed to a $750. million settlement.

BASF and roughly half a dozen other business had actually been. tentatively scheduled to go to trial in early 2025.

This substantial arrangement remains in large part the outcome of. the pressure of upcoming trial cases, lawyers for the water. systems at the law firms Douglas & & London, Napoli Shkolnik,. Baron & & Budd and Motley Rice said in a joint statement on. Tuesday.

It acknowledges the scope of the PFAS crisis, and the. financial depths needed to address an issue of this. magnitude, they said.

Beyond the courtroom, PFAS have actually come under increased. regulative scrutiny in the United States in the last few years as. well.

In April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set the. first nationwide drinking water standards to secure people from. the chemicals, and designated a pair of the chemicals as. harmful substances under the country's Superfund program.

(source: Reuters)