US EditionPost-It Maker 3M on Trial in Belgium over 'Forever' Chemicals
Around 1,400 residents seek nearly €30 million from 3M for PFAS pollution linked to health risks and property damage, with cleanup costs exceeding €500 million.
- On Tuesday, Belgians living near a 3M plant sued the company over PFAS pollution as a trial opened in Antwerp, with residents demanding nearly 30 million euros in damages, Lenssens said, `An illness can take several decades to develop, as we saw with asbestos`.
- Testing in 2021 detected abnormal groundwater and soil pollution near the plant, and a blood-sampling campaign confirmed hundreds had high PFOS levels.
- Hundreds of residents are demanding almost 30 million euros, with about 1,400 locals seeking 20,000 euros each, says lawyer for the plaintiffs.
- While remediation continues, 3M said it has not produced PFAS at the plant since 2024 and is conducting a soil cleanup under a 2022 agreement, with a verdict not expected before a month.
- Some residents stopped eating hens' eggs and gardening on advice, and lawyer Geert Lenssens warned `An illness can take several decades to develop, as we saw with asbestos`.
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Post-it maker 3M on trial in Belgium over 'forever' chemicals
Belgians living near a 3M plant called for justice Tuesday at the opening of a trial against the US multinational maker of Post-it and Scotch tape over pollution from so-called forever chemicals.
Post-it maker 3M faces Belgian trial over ‘forever’ chemicals
Hundreds of Belgians living near a 3M plant have sued the US multinational maker of Post-it and Scotch tape over pollution from so-called "forever chemicals" in a trial that opens on Tuesday. The residents are demanding almost 30 million euros ($35 million) in total in potential damages in the latest in a series of legal
Today, the class-action lawsuit against 3M begins in Antwerp. 1,400 residents living near the chemical giant are demanding €28 million in damages because their soil and blood are contaminated with PFOS. VRT NWS spoke with Thomas, René, Veerle, and Geert, as well as Kurt, the man who initiated the case. "I constantly ask myself: wouldn't I be selfish if I didn't move?"
The trial between some 1,400 neighbouring residents of the 3M factory in Zwijndrecht, near the port of Antwerp, and the American 3M group, will begin this Tuesday. The complainants accuse the group of having exposed them for years to the discharges of components of the PFAS family.
The trial pitting the 3M factory against a citizens' group opens on Tuesday, February 24, and is expected to last at least three days. On one side, the defendant: the 3M group's factory—known for its Scotch tape and Post-it notes—located in Zwinjndrecht, near the port of Antwerp in Belgium. On the other, some 1,400 local residents gathered under the name "Darkwater3M," a reference to the film Dark Waters, which tells the true story of a lawyer w…
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