At the headquarters of the American chemical giant 3M in Minnesota, they have known for more than twenty years that PFOS is toxic. The employee’s resignation letter, which the government also saw, added to the pressure in 1999. However, the company’s executives did not intervene, and they continued to produce the chemical that is water, dirt, and grease until 2000.
In 1999, 3M environmental specialist Richard Purdy wrote a flamboyant resignation letter calling the company’s head “unethical” and claiming that they “are more concerned with markets, responsibility, and image than they are with environmental safety.”
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on March 28 Wrote He said, “My resignation is prompted by my deep disappointment with 3M’s handling of the environmental risks associated with the production and use of PFOS and its precursors.”
Then the researcher worked for the American company in Decatur (Minnesota) as an environmental specialist. He had to map the impact of PFOS on the environment. The chemical is used in products such as paper, textiles, carpets, and firefighting foam
Purdy also sent a letter to the US Environmental Agency.
The whistleblower called PFOS “the most insidious pollutant since PCBs.” PCBs were officially banned in 1985 because they have been linked to environmental damage and cancer. PCBs have been used for decades in the American electrical grid, among other things.
stop perfluorooctane sulfonic acid
In the early 2000s, 3M discontinued production of PFOS. Both are in Decatur (Minnesota) and Zwegendrecht. The pressure from the US government has become too much. Evidence accumulated.
In part, that’s also thanks to Dr. Richard Purdy. Since 1997 he has found more and more evidence that the product is ubiquitous. “In fish, invertebrates, rats, and small eagles,” he said in an interview on American radio. As 3M kept fate covered, he quit in 1999.
“I worked within the system to learn more about this chemical and to educate the company about the risks associated with its continued use. But I was constantly faced with setbacks, delays, and reluctance to make a decision,” Purdy said. “For weeks I was assured that my samples would soon be analyzed, without ever seeing any results. There is always an excuse and hardly anything is achieved.”
It wasn’t until 2000 that 3M finally informed its customers of the dangers of PFOS to people and the environment. Purdy was at the heart of that.
“I have done my best to ensure that the right actions are taken for the benefit of the environment. At almost every step I am assured that action will be taken, yet I see slow or even no results. I have been told the company is involved, but their actions show a different concern than mine” .
Purdy’s letter was one of several documents and memos that were made public after the company was sued in Minnesota in 2010 for environmental pollution. In that lawsuit, the company settled last year $850 million (nearly 702 million euros).
