WASHINGTON _ The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency outlined a national plan Thursday to deal with public health risks of pollution caused by a family of chemicals used in many household products, including those produced by Minnesota-based 3M Co.
Drinking water and groundwater pollution caused by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances _ known as PFAS _ has been linked to cancer and other serious health risks in animal studies.
Minnesota negotiated an $850 million settlement in 2018 with 3M in a PFAS pollution suit brought by then-Attorney General Lori Swanson for pollution around the company's Cottage Grove production plant.
The company denies that PFAS is hurting people at the levels measured in groundwater and drinking water. But 3M faces suits from public officials in multiple states and is the subject of a private class action lawsuit brought in behalf of people allegedly suffering from PFAS-related health problems.
After EPA Administrator Scott Wheeler on Thursday outlined what he called a "historic moment" in the agency's efforts to address a "chemical of concern," 3M issued a statement:
"3M supports EPA's creation of a PFAS Action Plan and looks forward to reviewing the plan in detail ... We support regulation rooted in the best-available science and believe that this plan may help prevent a patchwork of state standards that could increase confusion and uncertainty for communities."
Environmental and consumer groups immediately challenged Wheeler's decision not to push immediately for lower limits on PFAS in drinking and groundwater.
No mandatory national standard exists for allowable levels of PFAS, only a health advisory level. But that level _ 70 parts per trillion _ is many times higher than levels proven to cause serious health problems in animal experiments and multiple times higher than safety levels adopted in several states.
"The lack of a federal standard is not an indication of safety," David Andrews, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, told the Star Tribune. "The lack of a federal standard is a failing in the process to incorporate modern science."
Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota, who served as lieutenant governor during the state's PFAS lawsuit against 3M, noted the need for speed.
"While I'm pleased to see the EPA responding today to the outcry over their failure to make progress on PFAS standards," Smith said in a statement, "it is crucial that there is no delay in ensuring that Minnesotans have access to both clean and safe drinking water."
