Cancer rate no higher where 3M chemicals present in water ST. PAUL (AP) - The state Health Department has said that a study covering 15 years shows cancer rates in the east Twin Cities metropolitan area - where industrial chemicals have been detected in water wells - are very similar to rates across Minnesota. The cancer rates in Washington and Dakota counties also ’were generally on par" with other cities in the metro area, the agency said. The Health Department said it undertook the study in response to residents' concerns about the presence of low levels of perfluorochemicals, or PFCs, in several water wells in the area. Those chemicals were used years ago by 3M Co. in the making of Scotchgard, fire retardants and other products. Residents have raised questions about cancer at public meetings the Health Department has hosted in towns across the counties. ’If you go to any of these community meetings, you hear people say, `We have too much cancer on our block and we believe it's related' to the 3M chemicals," said Dr. Alan Bender, who manages the Chronic Disease and Environmental Epidemiology Section at the agency. ’We can say (from the study) that the fear that there is a cancer epidemic is not supported by the data." The agency acknowledged that the study - which covers the years 1988-2002 - doesn't address whether PFCs can be linked to cancer in humans. The agency also acknowledged that it is difficult to discern cancer rates in small populations because of many factors, such as age or race. Moreover, many of the counties' residents lived elsewhere more than five years ago, though many cancers may remain latent for decades. ’It's not a clean bill of health by any stretch," Bender said of the study. Studies have shown that at high levels PFCs can harm animals, but no studies to date have proven that PFCs cause health problems in humans. Bill Nelson, a spokesman for 3M, said the study ’is consistent with the volumes of other research that is being done on the chemistry which supports the conclusion that there are no adverse human health effects of exposure to PFC, certainly at the levels seen in the environment." 3M has agreed to pay up to $8 million to reduce the leaking of PFCs from a landfill in Lake Elmo in Washington County and also agreed to pay up to $5 million for research into the effects of PFCs on the environment. PFCs do not break down in nature, and 3M stopped manufacturing them in 2002 after they were found in the tissues of animals and people worldwide. 3M legally disposed of industrial waste containing the chemicals at three east Twin Cities metro landfills that are the suspected sources of the groundwater contamination. The agency used data from the Minnesota Cancer Surveillance System. In Washington County, for instance, it found there were 4,397 new cases of cancer diagnosed in males between 1988-2002, compared to 4,549 that would be expected for that group based on its population size, age, and gender.

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