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“Lawsuits Charge that 3M Knew About the Dangers of Its Chemicals”

By on April 12, 2016 in 3M, PFO's, Uncategorized

What it really means when Minnesota’s courts and regulatory agencies service special interests.  Another 3M scandal in which I had some involvement was the expanded burning of hazardous waste at the 3M haz waste incinerator in Cottage Grove.  In that business, the MPCA also acted as a servant of 3M rather than a protector of Minnesotans.  Of course it is generally easy for elected officials, courts, and regulators to stomp on individuals and small businesses.  The real test of integrity is how they behave when confronted with powerful special interests such as 3M, Xcel energy, or US Steel.   From what I can see the record is pretty bad, with Attorney General Lori Swanson looking better than some others.

https://theintercept.com/2016/04/11/lawsuits-charge-that-3m-knew-about-the-dangers-of-pfcs/

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More bad news on DuPont/3M chemicals and drinking water

By on April 29, 2013 in 3M, PFO's, water pollution

            Current drinking water limits appear to be “several hundredfold too high.”

The Minnesota Department of Health has a “ Health Risk Limit” of 300 nanograms/liter for C8 (PFOA) one of a family of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) make by 3M Company that has caused widespread contamination of drinking water in Minnesota and elsewhere.  This limit was adopted in 2008 or 2009 and replaced a limit of 500 nanograms/liter adopted in 2007.  That replaced an earlier limit of 1000 n/L.  It means in practice that if C8 levels in drinking water are below this level, the water is considered safe to drink by federal and Minnesota officials. Continue Reading →
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