Cant believe this crap, looks like as late as 2002 3m was allowing waste to enter the water table, or maybe even disposing of chemicals by dumping! Bastards....
(AP) St. Paul The state Health Department revised its guidelines for the consumption of fish caught along a stretch of the Mississippi River due to concerns about perfluorochemicals, which were once manufactured by 3M Co.
The revised guidelines, issued Tuesday, recommend people eat only one meal per week of bluegill sunfish from Pool 2 of the river, which runs from the Hastings Dam to the Ford Dam in St. Paul. The previous recommendation had no consumption limits.
The Department of Natural Resources already recommends that all smallmouth bass caught in the area be immediately released. The eating of channel catfish and white bass from the area was already restricted due to PCB pollution.
Maplewood, Minn.-based 3M stopped producing the chemicals in 2002, but before that they were part of popular consumer products including Teflon and early versions of Scotchguard. The chemicals have turned up far afield, including blood banks and wildlife.
PFCs don't break down naturally and high doses have been shown to cause cancer and birth defects in lab rats. The company has said the chemicals don't threaten human health or the environment.
The Health Department said it made recommendations for Pool 2 based on data gathered as part of an investigation of perfluorochemicals released from 3M's facility in Cottage Grove.
The department said it doesn't have data showing whether the chemical is present in fish in other parts of the river, but more sampling from Pool 2 and other parts of the river was expected in the next several months.
(AP) St. Paul The state Health Department revised its guidelines for the consumption of fish caught along a stretch of the Mississippi River due to concerns about perfluorochemicals, which were once manufactured by 3M Co.
The revised guidelines, issued Tuesday, recommend people eat only one meal per week of bluegill sunfish from Pool 2 of the river, which runs from the Hastings Dam to the Ford Dam in St. Paul. The previous recommendation had no consumption limits.
The Department of Natural Resources already recommends that all smallmouth bass caught in the area be immediately released. The eating of channel catfish and white bass from the area was already restricted due to PCB pollution.
Maplewood, Minn.-based 3M stopped producing the chemicals in 2002, but before that they were part of popular consumer products including Teflon and early versions of Scotchguard. The chemicals have turned up far afield, including blood banks and wildlife.
PFCs don't break down naturally and high doses have been shown to cause cancer and birth defects in lab rats. The company has said the chemicals don't threaten human health or the environment.
The Health Department said it made recommendations for Pool 2 based on data gathered as part of an investigation of perfluorochemicals released from 3M's facility in Cottage Grove.
The department said it doesn't have data showing whether the chemical is present in fish in other parts of the river, but more sampling from Pool 2 and other parts of the river was expected in the next several months.
