Australia sues Post-it maker 3M over ‘forever chemicals’

The federal government is suing Wall Street giant 3M Company for more than $2 billion in an unprecedented legal claim for damages over the contamination of dozens of communities across Australia with toxic “forever chemicals”.

The federal government has launched legal action against multinational company 3M.

The government alleges 3M, the American-based manufacturing giant, and its subsidiary, 3M Australia, withheld and misrepresented information about the effects of aqueous film-forming foam, did not disclose what it knew about environmental risks and gave assurances about disposal and environmental safety that were inconsistent with what the company knew.

The action, launched on Thursday, is the largest-ever brought by the Australian government.