Watchdog says PFAS found in 100% of Minnesota water testing sites

Minnesota's chapter of the Environment America Research and Policy Center says all of the 91 waterways across the state it tested for PFAS came back positive for some level of contamination.

Experts say forever chemicals can have a major impact on your health, compromising immunity, decreasing fertility, causing developmental delays in children and increasing the risk of certain kinds of cancers.  

"As one of the nation's longest rivers, the Mississippi supports a number of complex ecosystems across Minnesota, providing habitats for bass and catfish, mammals like otters, beavers and muskrats and countless other animals," Rolfes said. "We shouldn't have to worry about tainted drinking water or catching and eating contaminated fish."  

Rolfes says a lot of the PFAS discharge comes from sewage sludge on farm lands, but also the 3M facility in Hastings.

"These results are likely just the tip of the toxic iceberg since sources we used may not include all PFAS data in Minnesota," she said. 

Experts say they are especially concerned about the areas that are contaminated even when there's no clear source of forever chemicals.  

In 2024, 3M agreed to a country-wide, multi-billion-dollar settlement over PFAS-related water pollution. 

Kris Hansen, a former 3M employee, told WCCO that same year the Maplewood-based company knew about the dangers caused by PFAS as far back as 1975. 3M only moved to discontinue PFAS manufacturing in 2022, ceasing all usage of the forever chemical just last year.