报道显示3M公司已在阿拉巴马州花费了1亿美元清理PFAS（全氟和多氟烷烃）。在上周五与州政府和环境保护局达成的和解协议中，他们同意将支付更多的费用。
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.
阿拉巴马州和美国环保署的官员称该协议是一个里程碑式的协议，是“迄今为止美国针对PFAS所采取的影响最深远、意义最重大的执法行动”。
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公司关于PFAS达成的最大一宗诉讼和解案件是2018年2月与明尼苏达州达成的，当时该公司同意支付8.5亿美元的清理行动费用，大部分在华盛顿县。
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.
阿拉巴马州的协议涵盖了3M在迪凯特的工厂和其它工厂，主要在该州的西北部，还有一些尚未被确认。
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在一份声明中表示，该公司将“十分坚定地”履行和解协议中涉及的义务。
3M said in a statement it was “fully committed” to fulfilling the consent decree obligations.
和解协议上没有注明具体价格。阿拉巴马州环境管理部门的发言人Lynn Battle表示，现在确定垃圾场和田纳西河的损失还为时过早。
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.
“它保护了公众免受过去和未来的污染，使阿拉巴马州在监管这些有害化合物方面走在了前面，”环境管理部门主任兰斯·勒弗勒(Lance LeFleur)在一份声明中说。
“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公司已经同意支付3500万美元与阿拉巴马州的水务局达成和解。
Separately, 3M already has agreed to a $35 million settlement with a water authority in Alabama.
在周五的和解协议中，3M同意确定PFAS的浓度，并采取补救措施。措施包括使用专门的水和空气控制设备，以减少它们在国家和环境保护署不允许的的地点存在。此外，3M同意进行更多研究，以确定PFAS的健康风险和影响，并制定防止它们扩散的最佳做法。
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公司主动向监管机构承认，其迪凯特工厂向田纳西河非法排放了全氟化学品，而田纳西河是数十万人的饮用水来源。
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说，和解协议的临时性意味着：虽然治理活动将立即执行，但这不是处理的最终结果。政府可以根据收集的数据对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将承担与该法令相关的评估、补救行动和和解协议中相关研究的所有费用，包括阿拉巴马州监督3M行动所产生的任何费用。
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公司迪凯特工厂经理米歇尔•豪威尔在声明中表示:“3M公司加入迪凯特社区已经近60年，公司重视自己作为好邻居和环境管理者的角色。在过去的12个月里，我们已经确定了可以做得更多、更好的领域。我们决心在今后的行动中尽自己的一份力量。”
“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化学物质以其防水和耐热性能而闻名，已广泛应用于工业领域（最著名的的铁氟龙）和食品包装、睫毛膏等产品中。卫生官员说，几乎在美国每个人的血液中都能发现低浓度的PFAS，在世界各地的人和动物体内也都存在。
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化合物与癌症、高胆固醇、免疫缺陷、肝脏问题和生殖问题有关。这些危机已经引发了多起集体诉讼，好莱坞电影《黑水》讲述的是与杜邦公司相关的事情。
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公司去年额外拨出2.35亿美元用于法律诉讼，但一些法律专家，包括那些与几个州的诉讼有关的专家估计，最终的费用可能超过100亿美元。
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.
在越来越多的的赔偿责任索赔中，3M正积极通过诉讼进行抗辩，同时也在积极参与PFAS相关更严格的法规。
3M is aggressively fighting many of the increased liability claims through lawsuits — and also more stringent regulations and legislation regarding PFAS.
阿拉巴马州的和解协议可能会让化工行业之后针对PFAS的法规产生影响。3M公司同意，为满足法令规定的条件，3M公司所做的毒性报告和研究可被美国环境保护局用于制定PFAS的国家标准。
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，与协议相关的处罚将在之后评估，并将基于收集到的信息和3M是否在规定的时间内履行其义务。
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说:“在数十年的污染之后，3M公司同意采取一切必要行动来承担责任，对此我们表示赞赏。”
“We appreciate the fact that 3M has agreed to take all the actions necessary to take responsibility after decades of pollution,” LeFleur said.
3M说，它已经在迪凯特安装了水控制设备，并采取了其他措施，包括一项重大的封顶和遏制项目，用于管理受PFAS影响的土壤和地下水，同时安装颗粒活性炭系统以去除地下水中的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.
环境管理部门总法律顾问肖恩·西布利（Shawn Sibley）在声明中表示，阿拉巴马州认为达成和解协议是进行清理污染物保障居民安全的最快方法，而不是像在明尼苏达州和其他州那样提起诉讼。
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.
他说，这样一来，诉讼不会在法庭上花费多年时间，同时3M公司所做的研究将有助于进行清理工作。
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在声明中表示，“将致力于全面及时地履行和解协议义务，并继续与美国环境保护署和阿拉巴马州区合作。”该公司正在建立一个网站以进行更新。
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.
