What Are PFASs?

3M science explained.

Replacement image: photo by Neeqolah Creative Works on Unsplash

Archived page. This is the pfasfacts.com home page as 3M published it in 2018 and 2019, restored word for word from the Internet Archive capture of 30 June 2019. The statements on it are 3M’s, made at that time. They are not current scientific or regulatory guidance. What has changed since · View the capture · About this archive

3M cares deeply about the safety of our customers, employees, their families and the communities in which we live and work. Today, 3M employs more than 93,000 people around the world, improving countless lives through our business, innovation and community investment.

Driven by honesty and uncompromising integrity in everything we do, we are proud of our record of environmental stewardship and corporate citizenship.

We also care deeply about science – it is at the core of who we are and what we do. Through science, we create some of the world’s great innovations to improve lives around the world.

Among those innovations were PFASs (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances), which have been used in the manufacture of products ranging from firefighting products to stain-resistant fabrics to non-stick cookware. 3M decided to voluntarily phase out the manufacture of certain PFASs, such as PFOA and PFOS, starting in May 2000 as part of our commitment to environmental stewardship. As a result, 3M no longer makes PFOA and PFOS.

We do not believe there is a public health issue related to PFOA and PFOS. The chemical compounds in question cause no harm to human health at current levels of exposure.

“We do not believe that PFOS and PFOA cause harm to human health at levels they are typically found in the environment.”
Dr. Oyebode A. Taiwo, MD
Medical Director, 3M

The original page showed a 150 pixel image with this quote (file name Oyebode.png). The Internet Archive did not preserve it, and it has not been replaced.

KEY FACTS

PFOA and PFOS do not cause harm to human health at the levels typically found in the environment and in human blood.
3M no longer manufactures PFOA or PFOS.
Levels of PFOA and PFOS in the environment and in the human body are declining. 3M actively collaborates with national and state regulators, as well as scientists, researchers, and community representatives, for the purpose of advancing the science of PFASs.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the World Health Organization) views PFOA as less carcinogenic than alcoholic beverages, red meat, and even very hot drinks.
3M has spent more than $184 million on remediation and other projects to reduce the presence of PFOA and PFOS in the environment worldwide.

Archive note, added in 2026: when this was written, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified PFOA as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B). In December 2023 IARC classified PFOA as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). What has changed since.

Replacement image: photo by Hans Reniers on Unsplash

Original page footer, as archived