Jan. 28, 2007: Concerns deepen over 3M chemicals in groundwater

The widening discoveries of groundwater contamination from chemicals once manufactured by 3M has intensified concerns about the safety of drinking water used by thousands in the east metro.

In the next two weeks, state investigators will extend their search by taking samples from the city wells of Inver Grove Heights and Rosemount. They'll also test numerous private residential wells in southern Washington County and about three dozen area wells that serve institutions such as businesses, churches and schools.

The state health and environmental officials, as well as 3M, are trying to understand how the pollution moves underground and where else it might show up.

"We're trying to get an understanding of the scope of the contamination, sort of the breadth and depth of what's out there," said John Linc Stine, director of the environmental health division at the Minnesota Department of Health.

Investigators are tracking a legacy of pollution from a family of compounds called perfluorochemicals (PFCs), which were used in nonstick cookware, stain-resistant carpets and fabrics and other products.

3M, based in Maplewood, manufactured the chemicals for half a century and dumped them until 1974 at sites in Oakdale, Woodbury and Lake Elmo, and on company property in Cottage Grove.

Two of the chemicals, which have been linked to thyroid, liver and developmental problems in animal studies, have turned up in private wells in Lake Elmo and public wells in Oakdale. And on Jan. 19, state health officials announced the discovery of a lesser-known PFC in wells used by six more communities: Woodbury, Cottage Grove, Newport, St. Paul Park, Hastings and South St. Paul.

The revelations sparked legislative interest at a hearing last week and meetings of local officials.

The latest concerns relate to perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), which was found in the Prairie du Chien and Jordan aquifers, from which most east metro communities draw their drinking water. The concentrations ranged from 0 to 2.6 parts per billion. Two communities, Cottage Grove and St. Paul Park, showed levels above the Health Department's well advisory guideline of 1 part per billion.

Stine said there are no immediate health risks from drinking the water, but he said not much is known about long-term effects of PFBA exposure. Concerned residents may wish to use bottled water for drinking or cooking, he said, or install filters containing granular activated carbon.

The state Health Department is working on fact sheets and other information about water filters, officials said, and will hold a series of evening public meetings in affected communities beginning Feb. 12.

3M spokesman Bill Nelson said 3M manufactured PFBA at its Cottage Grove plant for several decades and discontinued it in 1998 for business reasons. The company also manufactured two other perfluorochemicals, PFOA and PFOS, that were phased out between 2000 and 2002, he said. Company workers who have been exposed for years to those two chemicals have not experienced adverse health problems, he said.

Nelson said 3M is committed to working with the state to learn more about how the chemicals are moving in groundwater.

"We believe the first step in taking care of what's in the environment is to determine where it's coming from," he said. "That's what 3M is focusing on.

The likely sources are the three landfills that 3M used to dispose of PFC production wastes from 1956 to 1974. The company also disposed of PFCs intermittently near its Cottage Grove manufacturing plant but stopped the practice in 1974, Nelson said, when 3M began destroying all PFC wastes in an incinerator.

The chemicals have also been found in the tissue of fish taken from the Mississippi River near the Cottage Grove plant.

The latest findings about PFBA were discussed at a legislative hearing last week, during which lawmakers asked about the scope of the problem and the potential health effects. Stine said that the Health Department only developed the ability to test for PFBA last year and that some animal tests seem to indicate that it does not accumulate in humans.

Stine and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency officials also addressed nearly three dozen representatives from the east metro area Thursday at a meeting in Cottage Grove that was closed to the press.

Those who attended the meeting said afterward that city council members, legislators and public works officials raised numerous concerns: whether more private wells would be tested, where the contamination has been found and where it is moving, whether communities may need to filter water, how the findings might affect planning for future water needs, and whether there should be water consumption warnings.

Cottage Grove City Administrator Ryan Schroeder said that the meeting raised more questions than it answered but that he's confident that the Health Department is moving forward in a way that protects public health while gathering more information. Schroeder and state health officials said that they have received some calls from concerned citizens but that most people are probably still learning about the situation and waiting to hear more.

"The public is going to be interested, and they deserve to know when some sort of final solution is determined," said Schroeder, "but that's out a ways yet." .

Tom Meersman - 612 673-7388 .

ABOUT PERFLUOROCHEMICALS

Perfluorochemicals are compounds formerly manufactured by 3M to make products that resist stains, grease, oil, water and heat. Common uses include nonstick cookware, stain-resistant carpets and fabrics, firefighting foam and many industrial products. The chemicals are extremely resistant to breaking down in the environment, and two of them accumulate in humans and animals. 3M stopped making them at its Cottage Grove plant by the end of 2002. .

Growing evidence of tainted water

State health and environmental officials have found chemicals formerly manufactured by 3M in the groundwater beneath 8 communities in the east metro area, and will expand their investigation to additional areas during the next few weeks. The chemicals, called PFCs, were used in non-stick cookware, stain-resistant fabrics, firefighting foam and dozens of other products.

Oakdale Disposal Site Used for PFC wastes from 1956 to 1960 . Oakdale: Some city wells showed PFCs in late 2004. 3M paid $2.5 million for filtration system for two city wells. .

Former Wash. County Landfill Used for PFC wastes from 1969 to 1974 . Lake Elmo: Nearly 400 private wells tested in 2005-06, half of which showed PFCs. 3M provided $4.3 million to hook up 216 homes to city water. .

3M-Woodbury disposal site Used for PFC wastes from 1960 to 1965 . 3M plant PFCs manufactured from 1950-2002. Some wastes disposed on site. State and 3M are studying soil, groundwater, river sediment and fish for signs of contamination. .

Sources: Minnesota Health Department, ESRI, TeleAtlas