PFAS: DuPont, Chemours, Corteva Reach $2 Billion Settlement With New Jersey

Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva agreed to an $875 million settlement over the next 25 years with the state of New Jersey for PFAS contamination, commonly referred to as “forever chemicals.” Chemours will pay half of the settlement, with DuPont paying 35.5% and Corteva paying the rest. In addition, the three companies will contribute to a $1.2 billion remediation fund and a $475 million reserve fund in case any of the companies file for bankruptcy. The combined settlement of over $2 billion is New Jersey’s largest environmental settlement in history.

PFAS is a broad classification of chemicals that are linked with cancers (kidney, testicular, and breast), thyroid disease, immune system dysfunction, reproductive issues, and also learning disabilities and developmental delays in children who are exposed. Nearly all people in the United States have measurable levels of PFAS in their blood as PFAS are considered “ubiquitous” in the country. Estimates suggest there are well over 10,000 different PFAS chemicals, and most studies only focus on a select few of the more commonly used chemicals, such as PFOS and PFOA.

A study published in June found significant impacts of PFAS exposure on children. The authors wrote, “Human milk has been identified as a valuable matrix for assessing human exposure to PFAS, with PFOA and PFOS being the most commonly detected PFAS in human milk. The evidence suggests that exposure to PFAS during pregnancy and early childhood is linked to fetal growth restriction, birth defects, and developmental problems, as well as cognitive and behavioral difficulties, including lower IQ, ADHD, and anxiety. Furthermore, exposure to PFAS has been found to pose health risks in children and adolescents, including ADHD, behavioral difficulties, precocious puberty, kidney disease, thyroid hormone disruption, and reproductive hormone changes.”

The three companies also agreed to a $1.185 billion settlement in 2023 for “all PFAS-related drinking water claims” and $110 million in an Ohio settlement for seven decades of PFAS chemical contamination. Chemours is a spin-off company from DuPont that was created in 2015. DuPont merged with Dow Chemical in 2017 and split into three companies in 2019. One of those three companies is Corteva. In 2024, Chemours earned $5.78 billion in revenue, DuPont earned $12.39 billion, and Corteva earned $16.91 billion for a total of $35 billion annually in revenue. The total of the three settlements that began in 2023 equals about $3.37 billion.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a 2022 lawsuit against DuPont, 3M, and other PFAS manufacturers. “PFAS are as ubiquitous in California as they are harmful,” said Attorney General Bonta. “As a result of a decades-long campaign of deception, PFAS are in our waters, our clothing, our houses, and even our bodies. The damage caused by 3M, DuPont, and other manufacturers of PFAS is nothing short of staggering, and without drastic action, California will be dealing with the harms of these toxic chemicals for generations. Today’s lawsuit is the result of a years-long investigation that found that the manufacturers of PFAS knowingly violated state consumer protection and environmental laws. We won’t let them off the hook for the pernicious damage done to our state.”

The 2022 lawsuit brief alleges the companies knew about the harms of the PFAS chemicals in the products it was producing and selling, but made no effort to inform the public or provide adequate warnings.

Chemours has been lobbying to “water down” a PFAS ban in the European Union and reportedly has been holding “high-level meetings” to propose an alternative proposal. In 2024, the company spent the most it has ever spent in a single year of lobbying with $1.6 million, according to Open Secrets. DuPont spent $1.5 million, and Corteva spent $2.2 million.

PFAS chemicals, which were first used in the 1940s, remain in the environment today, earning them the nickname “forever chemicals.” This also creates a compounding effect where companies producing products with PFAS chemicals are increasing the overall prevalence in the environment.

The HighWire reported that Texas farmers are suing the EPA for failing to protect them against “toxic sludge” fertilizer, which has contaminated farmland with PFAS, or forever chemicals. The EPA said it has immunity thanks to the Clean Water Act. Under the new administration, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has made statements walking the line between protecting consumers and allowing manufacturers freedom to continue using these chemicals.

“We are on a path to uphold the agency’s nationwide standards to protect Americans from PFOA and PFOS in their water,” Zeldin said. “At the same time, we will work to provide common-sense flexibility in the form of additional time for compliance.”

The EPA issued an April press release with a plan to address PFAS contamination by holding polluting manufacturers accountable and preventing further PFAS drinking water contamination.

“I have long been concerned about PFAS and the efforts to help states and communities dealing with legacy contamination in their backyards. With today’s announcement, we are tackling PFAS from all of EPA’s program offices, advancing research and testing, stopping PFAS from getting into drinking water systems, holding polluters accountable, and providing certainty for passive receivers. This is just the start of the work we will do on PFAS to ensure Americans have the cleanest air, land, and water,” said EPA Administrator Zeldin.

Zeldin was a founding member of the PFAS Congressional Task Force and supported the PFAS Action Act when he was serving as a representative for New York from 2015 to 2023.

The EPA acknowledges the serious health effects of PFAS chemicals and also states that it is challenging to identify all of the potential health effects. “The types and uses of PFAS change over time, which makes it challenging to track and assess how exposure to these chemicals occurs and how they will affect human health,” the EPA website states.

Children have higher exposure to PFAS chemicals because they drink, eat food, and breathe air at a higher rate per pound compared to adults. Infants crawl around and put things in their mouths, which also increases exposure. The HighWire reported on a recent study last month that found 90% of children had measurable levels of 34 chemicals in their urine samples. More than half of the children had measurable levels of 48 chemicals in their urine samples.