| Minnesota Sues 3M | 19 February 11 |
The state of Minnesota filed a complaint against 3M Co. in state court December 30, 2010. The lawsuit, filed by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, seeks unspecified damages from 3M for polluting public and private wells by pumping perfluorochemicals (PFCs), used to make fire retardants, paints, stain repellents and other products into waters flowing into the Mississippi River and by burying the chemicals underground."3M made a mess, they contaminated the waters. We want them to step up and make it right," said Swanson. 3M manufactured PFCs in Minnesota from the 1950s through 2002. It stopped making them following negotiations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which says the chemicals pose serious risks to human health and the environment. 3M, best known for its Post-it Notes and Scotch tape, has been engaged in settlement talks with the state to pay damages for the contamination for some time. In 2007, the company signed a consent decree with the state's pollution control agency and agreed to remediate a number of sites in Minnesota. View January 28, 2011 Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune articleView January 6, 2011 Publicworks.com article View December 30, 2010 Bloomberg article View December 30, 2010 Associated Press article View December 30, 2010 ABC News article View December 30, 2010 Minneapolis Examiner article View December 31, 2010 Planet Ark article Source: Bloomberg, Planet Ark |
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