There are few better feelings in the world than walking out of a dealership with a new car, especially if you’ve just spent tens of thousands on the thing. It’s that gleaming metal, that new car fragrance, and the sense of pride and ownership that make the moment one to remember.

But not everyone gets a chance to enjoy it for very long. Many unscrupulous dealers and manufacturers use the opportunity to rip off their customers by coating their brand-new cars with a layer of useless Teflon.

The chemicals in question are called PFAS and they’re used to make things like water-resistant clothing, fire retardants, and non-stick pans. But they’re also dangerous to human health and the environment, accumulating in our bodies over time, poisoning our soil and drinking water, damaging our immune systems, causing cancer, destroying our livers, spleens, and bone marrow, and raising cholesterol and triglycerides levels, putting us at risk for heart disease.

But for decades, 3M knew these chemicals were unsafe – and they made them anyway. After being sued by the state of Minnesota for contaminating its waters with the compounds, 3M settled the case and released a massive set of internal studies, memos, emails, and research documents that revealed the company’s knowledge of PFAS and its harmful effects as early as the 1970s.