PFAS Water Contamination Lawsuit Lawsuit Tracker

3M Company begins commercial production of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and related PFAS chemicals using the electrochemical fluorination process developed by researcher Joseph Simons. PFOS becomes the basis for Scotchgard fabric protector, industrial surfactants, and eventually aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) supplied to the U.S. military. Internal 3M studies in subsequent decades will document PFAS accumulation in human blood worldwide — findings that are not disclosed to regulators or the public for decades.

DuPont begins using PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid, known internally as C8) as a processing aid in the manufacture of Teflon and other fluoropolymers at its Washington Works plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia. PFOA-containing wastewater is discharged into the Ohio River and the Dry Run Creek, contaminating the drinking water of communities on both the West Virginia and Ohio sides of the river. Internal DuPont studies later revealed to the public through litigation show the company knew of PFOA's accumulation in human blood and association with health effects as early as the 1980s.

Attorney Rob Bilott of Taft Stettinius & Hollister files a lawsuit on behalf of West Virginia farmer Wilbur Tennant, whose cattle were dying after exposure to DuPont PFOA waste. Bilott's investigation reveals that DuPont had internal studies documenting PFOA health effects dating to the 1980s. This case triggers a class action settlement requiring DuPont to fund the C8 Health Project — the largest PFAS human health study ever conducted, involving over 69,000 residents of the Mid-Ohio Valley and establishing the epidemiological links between PFOA and kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis, high cholesterol, and pregnancy-induced hypertension.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidates PFAS/AFFF cases in the District of South Carolina before Judge Richard Gergel. MDL 2873 — In re: Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation — grows to include claims from municipal water systems, state governments, and individual personal injury plaintiffs. The MDL becomes the central forum for PFAS contamination litigation in the United States. Defendants include 3M, DuPont, Chemours, Corteva, Tyco Fire Products, BASF, AGC Chemicals, and others.

3M Company announces a settlement of $10.3 billion to $12.5 billion to resolve claims by U.S. public water systems for PFAS contamination of municipal drinking water supplies. This is one of the largest environmental settlements in U.S. history. The settlement fund is allocated to water utilities based on detected PFAS levels and remediation costs. The 3M water system settlement does not resolve individual personal injury claims, which remain pending in MDL 2873. The settlement is a landmark acknowledgment of 3M's responsibility for widespread PFAS contamination of public water supplies across the United States.

In early 2024, DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva agree to pay $1.185 billion to resolve U.S. water system PFAS contamination claims — a second major water utility settlement. Separately, in April 2024, the EPA finalizes the first-ever national drinking water maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for six PFAS chemicals: PFOA and PFOS at 4 parts per trillion (ppt) each, and regulatory levels for PFNA, PFHxS, HFPO-DA (GenX), and a combined hazard index. The 4 ppt limit for PFOA and PFOS is the lowest technically measurable level and significantly below the 70 ppt health advisory that had guided regulators since 2016. In May 2025, EPA signals potential rollback of MCLs for four of the six PFAS under political pressure, creating uncertainty in regulatory enforcement but not affecting litigation claims.