Vox Sentences - 3M’s $10 billion PFAS payout

3M settles the "forever chemicals" in drinking water lawsuit against it for over $10 billion; Israeli and Palestinian clashes intensify in the West Bank.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

3M will pay $10 billion over "forever chemicals"

E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

• 3M on Thursday reached a tentative $10.3 billion deal to settle claims that its production of PFAS — a class of “forever chemicals” — contaminated US water systems. [Vox / Benji Jones]
• PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) help materials repel heat, grease, and water. They’re known as forever chemicals because they don’t break down naturally and have been linked to cancer and environmental degradation. [Associated Press / John Flesher]
• The chemical company will pay water providers over 13 years to help public water providers test for and treat PFAS contamination. [USA Today / Natalie Neysa Alund]
• The settlement means 3M won’t face trial after a Florida city sued it for polluting its water supply while manufacturing firefighting foams. [Grist / Zoya Teirstein]
• However, a judge must approve the settlement, which does not admit 3M’s liability. The company said it would stop producing PFAS by the end of 2025. [Axios / Rebecca Falconer]

Alarming clashes rock the West Bank

• The UN warned that intensifying violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank risks “spiraling out of control.” [Al Jazeera]
• On Monday, Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians and wounded dozens during an hours-long raid on Jenin. [NYT / Isabel Kershner]
• The next day, Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis. That prompted hundreds of Israeli settlers to storm Palestinian towns and burn down homes. Israel arrested three suspects over the attacks. [AP / Isabel Debre]
• Despite rising violence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nationalist government is encouraging further Israeli settlements; many countries consider the towns a violation of international law. [Reuters / Ismael Khader and Ammar Awad]

In an early start to hurricane season, two named tropical storms formed in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time since June 1968. [AccuWeather / Alyssa Smithmyer]

• Sunrise Growers is recalling bags of frozen fruit sold at Walmart, Whole Foods, and other retailers over Listeria contamination risks. The list of recalled products is on the FDA website. [USA Today / Jessica Guynn]
  
• A judge temporarily blocked Wyoming’s ban on abortion pills while a lawsuit challenging the law’s constitutionality proceeds. [NYT / Pam Belluck]
• Facebook and Instagram restricted news access on both platforms in Canada after Parliament passed a law requiring social media companies to pay news outlets for content. [NBC News / Hayden Field]

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“The result is that millions of Americans will have healthier lives without PFAS in their drinking water.”

[Attorney Scott Summy, who represents clients in cases against 3M, on the $10 billion settlement / AP]

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