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3M and PFC groundwater contamination in Minnesota
Stephanie Hemphill
St. Paul, Minn.

Blood tests show Oakdale, Cottage Grove PFC levels decline

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Officials from the Minnesota Department of Health told east metro residents Monday night that a new study showed declining levels of PFCs in all but a few people, following installation of carbon filters on water systems.

Health workers also said published studies do not show clear evidence that PFCs affect human health.

3M made the perfluorinated chemicals until 2002, and the chemicals leached from landfills into ground water. MDH's study was based on of the concentration of perfluorinated chemicals in the blood of a random sample of residents. But people at the meeting still had concerns.

Scott Deutsch, of Lake Elmo, said it's hard to believe experts who say the chemicals are not toxic when so much work has been done to clean up the water.

"If they really felt that this chemical was not a concern, why wouldn't they just say 'that's a safe chemical, don't worry about it, let's forget about it," he said.

Pam Skinner, who lives in Oakdale, said she wants to know what other chemicals are disposed of in landfills in the area.

"For example, PFOS is a manmade by 3M, we don't as of yet know how toxic it is, but it was allowed to be put in our waste stream and get in the groundwater," she said. "There's likely lots of other chemicals that were put in there too."

Others at the meeting asked for a broader health study of residents, or at least for a follow-up to the current study. So far the Health Department does not have money for either one.