Minnesota Health Department to Release Findings of PFC Study at Oakdale Meeting

The state Department of Health next week will hold a public meeting about the results of a study of the affects of chemicals in the east metro water supply on area residents.

In 2008, the first East Metro PFC Biomonitoring Project looked at levels of perfluorochemicals (PFCs) in the blood of 196 adults in Oakdale, Lake Elmo and Cottage Grove, cities known to have had PFCs in their drinking water as the result of groundwater contamination.

A 2010-11 follow-up study measured the levels of PFCs in the blood of 164 of the same participants to determine if the levels declined. That study also asked participants to complete a survey “designed to gather information about a full range of their possible exposures to PFCs,” according to a release from the department of health.

Analysis from the second study will be shared at the meeting, set for 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, at the Skyview Community School in Oakdale.

Related: East Metro Residents' Levels of PFCs Decline Significantly

Health Department Answers Questions on Study of Chemicals Found in Drinking Water

MDH staff will give presentations from 7-8 p.m., along with updates on water testing for PFCs in the area and an MDH study of PFCs in homegrown produce.

Opportunities for one-on-one questions will be from 6:30-7 p.m. and 8-8:30 p.m.

Among the findings that will be presented at the meeting, according to the MDH release, include:

• Participants who drank unfiltered water for more years had higher PFC blood levels. Also, the more water a person drank, the higher their PFC levels were. These results confirm that drinking water was a major source of exposure in East Metro communities and that efforts to reduce this exposure were key in bringing down blood levels between 2008-2010.
• Monitoring of PFC levels in drinking water continues; concentrations generally are stable or declining.
• For the most part, diet, including homegrown produce, and use of various consumer products were not linked to higher PFC levels. MDH did find that people who had new carpeting installed in their home in the last year had higher levels of three PFCs, but this finding needs to be studied further.

People can find more information on the Minnesota Department of Health’s website.

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