報道顯示3M公司已在阿拉巴馬州花費了1億美元清理PFAS（全氟和多氟烷烴）。在上周五與州政府和環境保護局達成的和解協議中，他們同意將支付更多的費用。
3M Co., which has spent $100 million on PFAS cleanup in Alabama,?on Friday agreed to pay much more in a settlement with the state and the Environmental Protection Agency.
阿拉巴馬州和美國環保署的官員稱該協議是一個里程碑式的協議，是“迄今為止美國針對PFAS所采取的影響最深遠、意義最重大的執法行動”。
Alabama and EPA officials called it a landmark agreement, the “most far-reaching and significant enforcement action to date taken in regard to PFAS in the country.”
位于梅普威德（Maplewood）的3M公司關于PFAS達成的最大一宗訴訟和解案件是2018年2月與明尼蘇達州達成的，當時該公司同意支付8.5億美元的清理行動費用，大部分在華盛頓縣。
Maplewood-based 3M’s largest litigation settlement regarding PFAS was with the state of Minnesota in February 2018,?when it agreed to pay for $850 million in cleanup actions, mostly in Washington County.
阿拉巴馬州的協議涵蓋了3M在迪凱特的工廠和其它工廠，主要在該州的西北部，還有一些尚未被確認。
The Alabama agreement covers 3M’s Decatur plant as well as other sites, some not yet identified, in the northwest part of the state.
3M在一份聲明中表示，該公司將“十分堅定地”履行和解協議中涉及的義務。
3M said in a statement it was “fully committed” to fulfilling the consent decree obligations.
和解協議上沒有注明具體價格。阿拉巴馬州環境管理部門的發言人Lynn Battle表示，現在確定垃圾場和田納西河的損失還為時過早。
There is not a price tag attached to the consent decree. Lynn Battle, spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, said it is too soon to determine the cost of the damage in dump sites and in the Tennessee River.
“它保護了公眾免受過去和未來的污染，使阿拉巴馬州在監管這些有害化合物方面走在了前面，”環境管理部門主任蘭斯·勒弗勒(Lance LeFleur)在一份聲明中說。
“It protects the public from both past and future contaminations, and puts Alabama ahead of the game in regulating these harmful compounds,” Lance LeFleur, director of the environmental management department, said in a statement.
另外，3M公司已經同意支付3500萬美元與阿拉巴馬州的水務局達成和解。
Separately, 3M already has agreed to a $35 million settlement with a water authority in Alabama.
在周五的和解協議中，3M同意確定PFAS的濃度，并采取補救措施。措施包括使用專門的水和空氣控制設備，以減少它們在國家和環境保護署不允許的的地點存在。此外，3M同意進行更多研究，以確定PFAS的健康風險和影響，并制定防止它們擴散的最佳做法。
In the Friday consent decree, 3M agreed to both determine PFAS levels and then take remedial steps, including using specialized water and air control equipment, to reduce their presence at sites identified by the state and the EPA. In addition, the company has agreed to do more research to determine the health risks and effects of PFAS and develop best practices for containing them.
去年，3M公司主動向監管機構承認，其迪凱特工廠向田納西河非法排放了全氟化學品，而田納西河是數十萬人的飲用水來源。
3M last year voluntarily acknowledged to regulators that its Decatur plant illegally released a perfluorinated chemical into the Tennessee River, which supplies drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people.
LeFleur說，和解協議的臨時性意味著：雖然治理活動將立即執行，但這不是處理的最終結果。政府可以根據收集的數據對3M提出新增的要求。
LeFleur said the interim nature of the consent order means that, while it is enforceable immediately, “it is not the end of the process.” Additional requirements can be placed on 3M based on the data collected.
LeFleur表示，3M將承擔與該法令相關的評估、補救行動和和解協議中相關研究的所有費用，包括阿拉巴馬州監督3M行動所產生的任何費用。
3M will assume all the costs of the assessments, remedial actions and research associated with the consent order, LeFleur said, including any costs incurred by Alabama in overseeing 3M’s action.
3M公司迪凱特工廠經理米歇爾?豪威爾在聲明中表示:“3M公司加入迪凱特社區已經近60年，公司重視自己作為好鄰居和環境管理者的角色。在過去的12個月里，我們已經確定了可以做得更多、更好的領域。我們決心在今后的行動中盡自己的一份力量。”
“3M takes pride in being part of the Decatur community for nearly 60 years, and the company values its role as a good neighbor and steward of the environment,” Michelle Howell, 3M Decatur plant manager, said in the statement. “During the last 12 months, we have identified areas where we can do more and better, and we’re committed to doing our part in our operations moving forward.”
PFAS化學物質以其防水和耐熱性能而聞名，已廣泛應用于工業領域（最著名的的鐵氟龍）和食品包裝、睫毛膏等產品中。衛生官員說，幾乎在美國每個人的血液中都能發現低濃度的PFAS，在世界各地的人和動物體內也都存在。
PFAS chemicals, known for their water- and heat-resistant properties, have been widely used by industry — most famously in Teflon — and are in products ranging from food packaging to mascara. Health officials said PFAS can be found at low levels in the blood of virtually everyone in the United States and in people and animals across the globe.
最初，PFAS化合物與癌癥、高膽固醇、免疫缺陷、肝臟問題和生殖問題有關。這些危機已經引發了多起集體訴訟，好萊塢電影《黑水》講述的是與杜邦公司相關的事情。
Earlier PFAS compounds have been linked to cancer, high cholesterol, immune deficiencies, liver problems and reproductive issues. The crisis has sparked multiple class-action lawsuits and the Hollywood movie “Dark Waters” about DuPont.
3M公司去年額外撥出2.35億美元用于法律訴訟，但一些法律專家，包括那些與幾個州的訴訟有關的專家估計，最終的費用可能超過100億美元。
3M last year set aside an additional $235 million to cover legal claims, but some legal experts, including those associated with some of the lawsuits in several states, estimate theultimate cost could exceed $10 billion.
在越來越多的的賠償責任索賠中，3M正積極通過訴訟進行抗辯，同時也在積極參與PFAS相關更嚴格的法規。
3M is aggressively fighting many of the increased liability claims through lawsuits — and also more stringent regulations and legislation regarding PFAS.
阿拉巴馬州的和解協議可能會讓化工行業之后針對PFAS的法規產生影響。3M公司同意，為滿足法令規定的條件，3M公司所做的毒性報告和研究可被美國環境保護局用于制定PFAS的國家標準。
The Alabama consent order could have an effect on future regulations for the chemical industry over PFAS. 3M agreed that toxicity reports and research done to meet the conditions of the order can be used by the EPA as it develops national standards for PFAS.
政府表示，與協議相關的處罰將在之后評估，并將基于收集到的信息和3M是否在規定的時間內履行其義務。
Penalties related to the order will be assessed in the future, the state said, and will be based on the information gathered or if 3M does not follow through with its obligations in the required time frames.
LeFleur說:“在數十年的污染之后，3M公司同意采取一切必要行動來承擔責任，對此我們表示贊賞。”
“We appreciate the fact that 3M has agreed to take all the actions necessary to take responsibility after decades of pollution,” LeFleur said.
3M說，它已經在迪凱特安裝了水控制設備，并采取了其他措施，包括一項重大的封頂和遏制項目，用于管理受PFAS影響的土壤和地下水，同時安裝顆?；钚蕴肯到y以去除地下水中的PFAS。
3M said it has installed water-control equipment already in Decatur and taken other measures including a significant cap and containment project to manage PFAS-impacted soil and groundwater, and the installation of a granular activated carbon system to remove PFAS from groundwater.
環境管理部門總法律顧問肖恩·西布利（Shawn Sibley）在聲明中表示，阿拉巴馬州認為達成和解協議是進行清理污染物保障居民安全的最快方法，而不是像在明尼蘇達州和其他州那樣提起訴訟。
Alabama felt a consent decree, rather than litigation such as in Minnesota and other states, was the fastest way to get cleanup underway and ensure safety of residents, Shawn Sibley, the environmental management department’s general counsel, said in a statement.
他說，這樣一來，訴訟不會在法庭上花費多年時間，同時3M公司所做的研究將有助于進行清理工作。
That way, he said, the lawsuit would not be tied up in the courts for years and the research done will help inform the cleanup work.
“3M will pay what it takes to fix permanently whatever PFAS problems it created, in addition to the requirements for investigations and research on any effects of PFAS on public health and the environment,” LeFleur said.
3M在聲明中表示，“將致力于全面及時地履行和解協議義務，并繼續與美國環境保護署和阿拉巴馬州區合作?！痹摴菊诮⒁粋€網站以進行更新。
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3M said in its statement it is “committed to full and timely implementation of the consent order obligations and remains committed to continuing to work with [Alabama], the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the community.”The company is setting up a website for updates.
