HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 01-13 Water contaminants in Lake Elmo, Oakdale, Cottage Grove water dropping PIONEER PRESS 1/15/2016 www.twincities.com/portlet/article/htm1/fragments/print—article.jsp?articleld=29374518&siteld=569
Water contaminants in Lake Elmo, Oakdale, Cottage Grove water dropping
By David Montgomery
dmontgomery@pioneerpress.com
TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
Posted:Mon Jan 11 23:01:00 MST 2016
HIGHLIGHTS
* Levels of perfluorochemicals - or PFCs - in the blood of tested east metro
residents have declined 35 to 6o percent since 2008.
* Water sources had "potentially unsafe" PFC levels in 2004, due to leaching from
old dumps in the area.
* State tests the blood of certain residents to see if installed filtration systems
were having an effect.
* Most recent study looks at blood of several hundred Oakdale, Lake Elmo and
Cottage Grove residents.
* "Scientists are still studying whether or not PFCs cause health problems," said
one investigator.
Contaminant levels are declining rapidly in the blood of east metro residents, a decade after
steps were taken to filter pollutants out of the region's drinking water.
Compared with 2008, levels of perfluorochemicals -- or PFCs -- in the blood of longtime east
metro residents have declined by between 35 percent and 6o percent, a new Minnesota
Department of Health study finds.
The PFC levels in east metro residents are still above the U.S. average, but are "getting closer,"
investigator Jessica Nelson said.
"We certainly think that it's very good news," Nelson said. "It confirms that all those efforts
made to reduce the PFCs in drinking water are working."
East metro water sources were found to have "potentially unsafe" levels of the chemicals in
2004, due to leaching from old dumps in the area. 3M manufactured PFCs in consumer
products for several decades starting in the 1940s. The Maplewood-based company has since
paid part of the cost to clean and filter east metro groundwater.
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By 2006, filtration systems had been installed on public and private water pumps. The
Department of Health then began a study of the chemicals in residents' blood to see if the
filtration systems were having an effect.
The most recent study compared the blood of 149 longtime Oakdale, Lake Elmo and Cottage
Grove residents who were exposed to the contaminated water for years. It also looked at 156
new Oakdale residents, who moved to the area after the filtration systems were installed.
Oakdale city administrator Bart Fischer said the news is cause for celebration.
"We're very happy that the results continue to go down," Fischer said. "The filtering and the
other things that are being done are working."
Some scientific studies have shown a connection between PFCs and human illness, but other
studies have shown no significant impact -- though earlier studies showed a stronger
connection between the chemicals and illness in animals.
"Scientists are still studying whether or not PFCs cause health problems," Nelson said.
In a statement, 3M's vice president and corporate medical director Carol Ley downplayed the
health risks and noted that its own studies showed "no adverse health effects" in workers who
handled PFCs.
PFCs can remain in the body for years, so Nelson said it's not a surprise that longtime residents
still have elevated levels of the chemicals.
The new residents have PFC levels similar to the national average. Small amounts of PFCs may
come from diet or consumer products, Department of Health researchers said.
This was the third study of PFC levels in East Metro residents since the PFC contamination was
discovered, after earlier studies in 2008 and 2010. Nelson said the department currently
doesn't have any funding for future studies but will continue to monitor the situation.
Follow David Montgomery at twitter.com/dhmontgomerX.
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