The agency is preparing $2 million worth of biomonitoring studies that will test human subjects for arsenic, mercury and industrial chemicals once manufactured by 3M Co. They aim to identify the substances or their byproducts in human hair, blood, urine or other body tissues or fluids.
The first study, set to begin in mid-2008, will measure arsenic levels in 100 children near a contaminated site in south Minneapolis. Another study will test 200 adults for the 3M chemicals, which have turned up in southeastern Twin Cities groundwater and urban fish.
3M chemical OK for rats: A 90-day study funded by 3M Co. has found that rats did not sustain organ damage because of exposure to an industrial chemical that has turned up in the groundwater under the southeastern metropolitan area.
The preliminary results of the study were presented to a legislative committee Friday. The results indicated that PFBA primarily affected male rats by increasing the weight of their livers and reducing their thyroid function.
Company officials said there was no damage to the rats' organs and there was no evidence of injury to the thyroid.
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In their presentation, company officials said humans were less sensitive than rats to some of the effects of PFBA and the affected people in Minnesota have exposure to the chemical that's at least 1,000 times lower than the rats.
- Herald wire reports
