EPA Issues Drinking Water Health Advisories: See Impacts In Woodbury

WOODBURY, MN — Human-made “forever chemicals” found in water supplies across the country, including in Woodbury, are more dangerous than previously thought, the Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday, urging local utilities to install filters to remove them or at least warn customers how dangerous they are.

Polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are known as “forever chemicals” because of their durability in high heat and water, which means they remain in the environment for years without breaking down. They’re found in a range of food and consumer products and have been linked to infertility, thyroid problems and several types of cancer.

No state is untouched by PFAS contamination, according to a map compiled by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization sometimes criticized for exaggerating certain toxicity risks. But a growing body of scholarly and government research backs the assertion of both the EPA and EWG that even at low levels, these chemicals can cause harm over a person’s lifetime.

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PFAS have been confirmed in more than 2,800 locations across all 50 U.S. states, according to EWG. Woodbury was among the communities identified as being at risk in the PFAS map released by EWG.

A new data dashboard from the Minnesota Department of Health showed there are PFAS within Woodbury's community water source, but levels are within health guidelines set by the department.

"We are proud to report that no contaminants monitored under the Safe Drinking Water Act requirements were detected at levels that violated state and federal drinking water standards," Woodbury officials said in the city's 2021 Drinking Water Report published May 1.

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The best thing people can do right now is install one of several commercially available filters, but they need to make sure the filter removes PFAS.

Melanie Benesh, legislative attorney for the EWG, told The Washington Post the EPA’s advisory “should set off alarm bells for consumers and regulators.”

“These proposed advisory levels demonstrate that we must move much faster to dramatically reduce exposures to these toxic chemicals,” Benesh said.

Communities with PFAS contamination may be eligible for funding under a $1 billion grant program included in the Biden administration’s bipartisan infrastructure package approved by Congress last year.

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U.S. manufacturers have phased out PFOA and PFOS, two compounds found in the cluster of forever chemicals widely used in nonstick cookware, moisture-repellent fabrics and flame-retardant equipment. A few uses remain, and they’re ubiquitous in the environment, having accumulated since the 1940s, National Public Radio reported.

Even at levels so low they can’t be detected in drinking water, these compounds pose a health risk, the EPA said in the revised advisory. The agency lowered the allowable limits of these two compounds, immediately drawing fire from the chemical industry

The American Chemical Council, which represents PFAS producers such as 3M and Dupont, said Wednesday the EPA’s new standards “will have sweeping implications” on public policy, and “cannot be achieved with existing treatment technology and, in fact, are below levels that can be reliably detected using existing EPA methods.”

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Further, the industry group questioned the science behind the revised drinking water health advisory, saying it should have been delayed until the agency’s own Science Advisory Board could review dramatically reduced toxicity levels that are “3,000 to 17,000 times lower” than those set in 2016.

“Getting the science right is of critical importance,” the American Chemical Council said in a statement.

Health advocates say the problem can’t be overstated. Forever chemicals have already prompted officials in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan to issue advisories against eating certain fish caught in Lake Superior.

Woodbury officials have been forced to remove many of the city's municipal wells in recent years due to high PFAS levels. Those forever chemicals in Woodbury's groundwater have been traced back to products that were made at 3M's Cottage Grove facility for almost 60 years until 2002. Those PFAS were disposed of at multiple sites in Washington County.

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Solid waste, industrial solvents and acids from 3M's Cottage Grove and St. Paul manufacturing facilities were disposed of at a site in Woodbury located along the city's border with Cottage Grove, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

Woodbury and Cottage Grove residents also used that site to dump municipal waste, including household, automotive and construction debris, health officials said.

Woodbury is working to expand capacity at its temporary water treatment plant near the intersection of Valley Creek Road and Tower Drive. The plant could be required for more than five years as the city works to build a long-term treatment facility, officials said.

The city bought a parcel of land south of Hargis Parkway and east of Radio Drive, where a permanent facility to treat its water for PFAS will be built. Construction is expected to start in 2023 or 2024, officials said.

Minnesota reached an $850 million settlement agreement with 3M in 2018, with about $700 million to be directed to mitigate PFAS in drinking water in the Twin Cities' east metro. City officials have said they will try to have most of the costs for the permanent facility funded through that settlement agreement.

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