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3M and PFC groundwater contamination in Minnesota
Lorna Benson
Oakdale, Minn.

3M to clean up PFCs from company owned landfill

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Oakdale residents heard about 3M Company's plans Wednesday night for cleaning up perfluorinated chemicals, known as PFCs, leaking into their groundwater. The company held a public meeting to discuss options for removing PFCs from a 3M-owned landfill.

Company officials say they found PFC waste on the north side of the former dump site near a residential neighborhood.

3M spokesman Bill Nelson says the company will remove contaminated soil from the site and install a new groundwater pumping system to capture any remaining PFCs.

"We're offering a two-step approach in terms of dealing with the PFCs that are in the environment at a former industrial waste site. One way is to remove some soil, and the other way is to also treat groundwater and that's what we intend to do," Nelson explains.

PFC contamination from the landfill was discovered in several of Oakdale's municipal wells in 2004. Last year, 3M installed a carbon filtration system to remove PFCs from two city wells that exceeded safe health limits.

Next month the company will meet with residents in Woodbury and Cottage Grove to present PFC cleanup plans for former disposal sites in those communities. Later this winter, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will hold its own public hearings on 3M's cleanup plans.