Study by 3M says chemical in water didn't harm rats

By Associated Press, AP

Last update: December 17, 2007 - 10:14 PM

A 90-day study funded by 3M Co. has found that rats did not sustain organ damage due to exposure to an industrial chemical that has turned up in the groundwater under the southeastern metropolitan area.

The preliminary results of the study were presented to a legislative committee on Friday. The results indicated that PFBA primarily effected male rats by increasing the weight of their livers and reducing their thyroid function.

The results were consistent with previous company study of the chemical's effect on rats. That study had a shorter duration.

Company officials said there was no damage to the rat's organs and there was no evidence of injury to the thyroid.

In their presentation, company officials said humans were less sensitive than rats to some of the effects of PFBA and the affected people in Minnesota have an exposure to the chemical that's at least 1,000 times lower than the rats.

The Minnesota Department of Health said Maplewood-based 3M's data are sound, but the department is reviewing the company's conclusions.

According to maps issued by the Health Department in July, low levels of PFBA exist in groundwater beneath 99 square miles of Washington County — an area that includes public wells serving Cottage Grove, Woodbury and four other communities.

In a third of that area, levels of the chemical once used for coating photographic film are above what the state advises for drinking water.

PFBA is part of a class of chemicals called perfluorochemicals, or PFCs, which 3M made at its Cottage Grove plant from the 1950s until 2002.

The chemicals were legally dumped in the company's Woodbury landfill during the 1960s, and it's believed they then began to flow with the groundwater toward the Mississippi River.

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