Release Date: Wednesday, August 01, 2007

A new, independent source of information on widespread perfluorinated compound (PFC) contamination in Minnesota is available on the Internet, Clean Water Fund has announced. The new website is the most comprehensive source of information on the 3M contamination in Minnesota and is an essential tool for community residents, policy makers and others concerned about this issue.

The site http://www.cleanwateraction.org/mn/pfc provides detailed information on the communities impacted, what government agencies, elected officials and 3M are doing about the problem, how six other states are facing similar contamination and the resulting response. Much of the content is in easy to read charts.

This one stop resource takes a complicated, far reaching and ever expanding problem and puts it in a very user friendly format. It also for the first time provides a comprehensive view of the contamination issues that is not sponsored by government or industry. “Citizens have contacted us to ask whether they can trust the information they are receiving on PFCs,” stated Dave Dempsey of Clean Water Fund. “The issues are very complex. We hope this new resource not only makes the issue easier to understand, but also takes an independent look at what has happened in our communities. If Minnesotans are going to effectively deal with this problem, understanding the issue is critical.”

The site connects the 3M water contamination to a broader issue concerning U.S. chemical policy. “The 3M contamination is a prime example of flawed chemical policy,” stated Kim Schumacher of Clean Water Fund “Under the current system, chemical companies are not required to prove their chemicals are safe before putting them on the market. In fact, less than 10% of chemicals are tested for human health effects.”

Visitors to the site can get linked to the most recent news articles on this issue, access maps, a fact sheet, and other related web sites.

Clean Water Fund (CWF) is a national 501(c)(3) research and educational organization founded in 1978, serving communities in over 25 states. CWF's programs build on and complement those of Clean Water Action (CWA), a 1,000,000 member national 501(c)(4) organization (with more than 78,000 Minnesota members).

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