On Thursday, the Australian federal government announced one of the most significant legal actions in its history, filing a AU$2 billion (US$1.4 billion) damages lawsuit against U.S. manufacturing conglomerate 3M over widespread toxic contamination linked to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the persistent “forever chemicals” used in the company’s firefighting foam. The legal claim targets contamination that has impacted 28 separate Australian Department of Defence bases across the nation, marking the largest civil claim ever brought by the Australian government, according to Attorney-General Michelle Rowland.
PFAS, a family of man-made chemical compounds prized for their water and grease-resistant properties, appear in a wide range of consumer and industrial products from non-stick cookware to waterproof clothing and electronics. But their defining trait — resistance to natural environmental breakdown — has turned them into a persistent public health and environmental threat: the chemicals accumulate in soil, groundwater, and food chains, and can remain in the human body for years, with peer-reviewed research linking long-term exposure to a range of serious health conditions including multiple forms of cancer. In 2022, 3M publicly announced it would phase out all production and use of PFAS globally in response to growing public and regulatory concern over these health risks.
The Australian government’s lawsuit alleges that 3M engaged in deliberate misconduct spanning decades: the company knowingly withheld critical information about the toxicity and environmental persistence of PFAS found in its aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), a product widely used by Australian defence forces for firefighting training and emergency response. According to the claim, 3M deliberately misrepresented the safety of the product, repeatedly reassuring Australian authorities that the foam posed no environmental risk even when internal company data confirmed the opposite. The contamination has already imposed massive costs on Australian taxpayers, with more than AU$1 billion spent to date on investigations, site remediation, and risk mitigation across the contaminated defence estate.
“This misconduct has contributed to substantial costs for defence and the Australian taxpayer,” Rowland said in her official announcement of the suit. “Make no mistake, this legal action against 3M is significant. The government is committed to holding 3M and 3M Australia to account for the economic and environmental harms associated with PFAS contamination.”
In its official response to the claim, 3M pushed back against the allegations, noting that the company never manufactured PFAS within Australia’s borders and halted all sales of PFAS-containing firefighting foam in the country 20 years ago. The company also pointed out that the Australian Department of Defence continued to use its existing stockpiles of the foam for two decades after 3M stopped sales. A company spokesperson confirmed that 3M intends to vigorously contest the government’s claims through the formal legal process.