3M settles with Minnesota for $850M over contaminated water

Industrial group 3M has agreed to pay Minnesota $850 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that its disposed chemicals have contaminated groundwater in the state, Bloomberg reports.

The details: Settlement funds will be used to finance drinking water and sustainability projects, per Bloomberg. The suit, reportedly filed in 2010, sought punitive damages of $5 billion after the state linked the contaminated water to cancer and premature births. The company had denied the state's claims and said the chemicals posed no health risk to its employees who were exposed to higher levels, per Bloomberg.