Former 3M Chemical Found in Fish From Nine More Lakes
By Dennis Lien, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
Jan. 30–Traces of a former 3M industrial chemical have been found at slightly elevated levels in fish taken from an additional nine Twin Cities-area lakes, state investigators said Tuesday.
The results, reflecting the latest round of sampling by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, could lead to stricter fish-consumption advisories in at least some of them, including Lake Johanna in Arden Hills.
Levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate in Lake Johanna fish reflect levels found last year in Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis and in Washington County’s Lake Elmo, where tighter fish-consumption guidelines were issued.
After releasing results from sampled fish in 10 east metro lakes in August, the agency studied an additional 20 lakes from throughout the metro area. In the latest round, the MPCA tested for 13 perfluorochemicals, but only one, PFOS, came back at levels of concern.
The results were mixed, with 11 of the lakes showing little to no evidence of the compound. Of those with elevated levels, Lake Johanna and Lake Harriet in Minneapolis had the highest readings.
Paul Hoff, supervisor of the MPCA’s environmental reporting and special studies unit, said the results aren’t surprising.
“I think it’s consistent with the first batch found last summer,” Hoff said.
Pat McCann, a state Health Department research scientist, said her agency is evaluating the results and will issue upgraded fish-consumption advisories this spring as part of a broader update that
includes other pollutants such as mercury and PCBs.
3M used to make the compounds at its Cottage Grove plant for use in a variety of products, including Scotchgard, and disposed of production waste around the east metro area, prompting health-related concerns. The chemicals, which 3M insists aren’t harmful to people, don’t break down easily in the environment.
Hoff said the most recent samples suggest contamination isn’t coming from atmospheric fallout, which would produce a more uniform level of pollution, but from stormwater runoff from products such as firefighting foam.
“Something is going on in those watersheds … that’s either a historic or continuing source that’s creating those levels,” Hoff said. “It’s not just falling out of the sky.”
Besides Johanna and Harriet, lakes with higher PFOS levels are Cedar and Hiawatha in Minneapolis, Jane in Lake Elmo, Keller in St. Paul, Tanners just east of St. Paul, Red Rock in Eden Prairie, and Powers in Woodbury.
Lakes that showed little or no trace of PFOS are Cedar in Scott County, Centerville, Colby, Green Mountain, Hydes, Independence, Nokomis, Peltier, Upper Prior, Sarah and Silver, as well as the Mississippi River at Brainerd.
Dennis Lien can be reached at dlien@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5588.
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