3M said on Tuesday that it would stop making PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals", by the year 2025.
The per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances do not break down quickly and have been found in dangerous concentrations in drinking water, soils and foods across the country.
Legal pressures over damage caused by the chemicals are on the rise. Several companies were sued by California's attorney general last month to recover the costs of cleaning up the mess.
Pressure on companies to stop producing the chemicals has increased in recent years, with investors managing $8tn of assets writing to 54 companies urging them to phase out their use
3M has annual net sales of over one billion dollars. Over the course of its exit from PFAS, the company expects to incur a number of charges.
3M expects to take a pre-tax charge of between $0.7 billion and $1 billion in the fourth quarter.
The Biden administration said in August that it would propose designating certain chemicals as hazardous substances.
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