Fish Consumption on Calhoun, Brownie, Cedar, Lake of the Isles and Harriet.

[Scott M]

3M Chemical Found in Fish in Minneapolis' lakes

From Star Tribune

People who fish in the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes and parts of the Mississippi River should limit their consumption of what they catch, after a former 3M chemical was detected in fish tissue from those waterways.

The Minnesota Department of Health issued the advisory this afternoon after finding the chemical, called perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), in fish taken from those waters.

The chemical has been a focus of concern after it contaminated drinking water in the east metro, and had previously been detected in the Mississippi River fish downstream of the 3M factory in Cottage Grove. State environmental officials don't know how the chemical got into fish in Lake Calhoun.

In a news release Monday, the Minnesota Department of Health "recommends that people who eat bluegill sunfish from Lake Calhoun and several connected lakes limit their consumption to one meal per month. Because bluegill are known to move between connected lakes, the advice is being extended to bluegill taken from any of the upper chain of lakes connected to Calhoun: Brownie, Cedar, Lake of the Isles and Harriet."

According to the health department, "A variety of health effects occur in laboratory animals exposed to high doses of PFOS... The most sensitive effects (i.e., effects observed at the lowest dose causing adverse effects) are decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL or good cholesterol) and changes in thyroid hormone levels in some animals. Special cleaning and cooking precautions used to reduce contaminants like PCBs that concentrate in fat are not effective with PFOS."

The chemicals pose no threat to swimmers, because they're poorly absorbed through the skin, and "incidental ingestion of surface water while swimming would not likely expose someone to significant doses," the health department said.

3M Co. has maintained that the levels of PFOS and related chemicals present in the environment have not been shown to be a health risk. For more information on the fish consumption advisory, go to Fish Consumption Advisory

[fdr01]

how in the heck did that stuff get into the chain.man now im going to have to start defending the quality of the fish in these lakes again save for bluegill and there aint to many in any of them lakes that i would eat anyway,but all the same it would be nice if 3M would keep it chemicals to itself

[Katman]

Its PG&E all over again!

[Scott M]

More lake fish contain former 3M chemical

by Tom Meersman, Star Tribune

A former 3M chemical has been found in fish taken from more metro area lakes, including Cedar, Calhoun and Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis.

The compound, known as PFOS, was measured at levels of concern in 13 of 22 lakes, mostly in bluegills, black crappies and largemouth bass.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) released the data Monday from fish tested in 2008, the agency's third year of checking fish.

Pat McCann, research scientist for the Minnesota Department of Health, said that the data are being reviewed and that the department may issue advice about eating fish less often from some of the lakes.

"The concern that we have about contaminants in fish in general is people's long-term exposure," McCann said. In some cases health officials advise that people eat no more than one meal per week, or one meal per month, of certain species. McCann said some of the lakes already have such advisories because of mercury found in fish.

The study also detected PFOS in Fish Lake and Wild Rice Lake near Duluth, and in the Mississippi River near 3M's Cottage Grove plant. The company manufactured PFOS and similar chemicals for decades until 2002. The compounds were used in hundreds of products including stain-resistant fabric coatings and firefighting foam.

The chemical continues to show up in unexpected places, some of them far from where 3M manufactured or disposed of the compound, said Paul Hoff, MPCA supervisor of environmental reporting and special studies. "It's really kind of unpredictable," Hoff said.

The chemical was used in so many products that it seems to be generally present in much of the environment, said Hoff. PFOS does not break down.

A handful of lakes with the highest concentrations may have had extra doses of the chemical at some point in history, he said, such as chemicals that washed off streets and were taken into lakes through stormwater pipes. The two northern lakes are near the Duluth airport, said Hoff, where foam with the chemical may have been used in firefighting drills.

The testing of metro lakes began with a surprise finding of PFOS in bluegills in Lake Calhoun. Researchers began checking fish in other areas to see whether Calhoun was unusual or typical of other lakes. During the past three years, MPCA has tested about 1,450 fish in 55 lakes, and in the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers.

Hoff said the agency will analyze that data further. Besides trying to find hot spots for the chemical and possible sources of how it got into lakes, scientists are also trying to learn why it seems to accumulate in some fish species more than others.

"We're always cautious about drawing conclusions," said Hoff. "We have a lot more questions than answers."

[erickol]

anyone know the health risks of this chemical?

[Black_Bay]

anyone know the health risks of this chemical?

It helps protect against spills and stains such as coffee, juice and ketchup. Won’t change the look or feel of your hair and skin.

Keeps hair and skin cleaner and looking newer longer.

[SkunkedAgain]

My recommendation would be to avoid eating any fish out of lakes in that watershed until they've really figured this out.

[Maximum12]

Gotta die of something.

Moderation in all things.

Given the random distribution of the chemicals located so far, they could be in any lake in the area. If you're afraid of them, the safe thing to do would be to quit harvesting fish altogether until they're sure of the effects. And that could be years.

I only eat fish out of the Cities 2-4 times per year, so I'm not going to worry about anything short of hard radiation in the water.