3M Chemicals in E Twin Cities public water supplies

[Realtree]

3M chemical found in 100 east metro wells
 
ST. PAUL (AP) - A chemical once made by 3M has been found in nearly 100 private wells in communities on the east side of the metro area - including Woodbury, Cottage Grove and St. Paul Park - and health officials said concerned residents may want to buy bottled water or install granular carbon filters.

Minnesota health officials don't know the potential long-term health risks from drinking water containing the chemical called PFBA. The latest findings are higher than the state's guideline of 1 part per billion.

Virginia Yingling, hydrogeologist for the state Department of Health, said Wednesday that the state tested 350 wells over the past three months after the chemical was found in public drinking water in Woodbury, Cottage Grove, St. Paul Park, Hastings, South St. Paul and Newport.

Yingling said the chemical appears to have come from a 3M disposal site in Woodbury, where the company legally buried wastes decades ago.

Levels of PFBA found in public water earlier this year ranged up to 2.3 parts per billion, but she said concentrations in private wells reached as high as 5.8 parts per billion.

Yingling said more private wells will be tested.

The research was mentioned during a half-day discussion in St. Paul that included about 100 local, state and federal officials, industry representatives and others.

PFBA was used in photographic film and other products. It is part of a larger family of compounds called perfluorochemicals, which have been found in drinking water in Oakdale and Lake Elmo, and in fish in the Mississippi River and in Lake Calhoun.

A phone message left with a 3M spokesman was not immediately returned Thursday. But 3M officials have said that at concentrations found in the environment, the compounds have never shown adverse health effects, even among employees exposed to much higher levels.

Mary Dominiak, perfluorochemical coordinator for the federal Environmental Protection Agency, said the compounds do not break down in the environment and they accumulate in human blood.

"These chemicals don't behave like anything else on the planet," Dominiak said. "That makes them very difficult to study."

She said it may be a few years before the EPA can pinpoint what concentrations might be risky for humans.

But local officials said they want answers, while frustrated and concerned residents ask whether their water is safe to drink.

"We're answering the phone every day trying to provide information and guidance to people," said Cindy Weckwerth, a program specialist for public health and the environment in Washington County.

Cottage Grove Mayor Sandy Shiely said the issue also raises concern about property values, attracting new businesses and residential development.

"All these issues affect the sense of well-being in our communities," said Rep. Julie Bunn, DFL-Lake Elmo.

Tom Sinks, deputy director of the National Center for Environmental Health, said it's reassuring that studies done so far have not shown problems, but that it's premature to conclude that exposure is risk-free.

"We haven't done the number of health studies that we need to conclude that they're safe," he said.

 

[Spinach]

Time to stock up on more bottled water.....

[iceman]

It sounds like 3M should be buying your water for you ....NOT YOU !

[holdemtwice]

 THANX ORT !!   i will steer clear of those ereas  when drinking water .  i am sure they will have 3M pay for it !!

[rchaze60]

3M is not going to buy all of us bottled water :ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO: but they will have to pay one way or another

[Randy Kaar]

they should at least buy us a beer!

randy aka bh

[tripnchip]

randy does this mean if i take a pic of you it could turn out to be double exposure? don't know if we could handle that.lol

[iceman]

Judge Rejects Class Action Status In 3M Lawsuit
(AP) Stillwater, Minn. A judge rejected a motion Tuesday to grant class-action status to a lawsuit filed against 3M Co. by some residents of the eastern Twin Cities area over chemicals once made by 3M that have been found in private and city wells.

Washington County District Judge Mary Hannon ruled that the plaintiffs failed to meet the extensive legal requirements under Minnesota law to get the lawsuit certified as a class action. But she wrote that the lawsuit can still go forward on behalf of the plaintiffs who filed it and set a scheduling conference for Aug. 17.

The claims involve a family of chemicals called perfluourochemicals that 3M made for about 50 years at its plant in Cottage Grove until discontinuing production of them in 2002. The chemicals were used in several products, including Scotchgard stain repellants. They don't break down readily in the environment and build up in human and animal blood. There is disagreement on whether they pose a risk to human health.

Maplewood-based 3M disposed of waste materials containing PFCs at two landfills in Washington County in compliance with the applicable laws at the time, but the chemicals were later found in private wells in the Lake Elmo area and in Oakdale's city well, leading some residents to file the lawsuit against 3M in 2004. The lawsuit seeks to force 3M to take steps to prevent further contamination and remove the contamination that already exists, as well as monetary damages.



http://wcco.com/local/local_story_170183518.html