WINONA, Minn. – A Winona State University biochemist, Jeanne Franz, said the polyfluoroalkyl substances leaking from a giant landfill nine mile up West Burns Valley are not a cause for alarm but important to monitor. The state has asked for funding to step up monitoring for the carcinogenic “forever chemicals,” the need for which Franz doesn’t dispute. But, she said, the landfill leakage from the landfill is so minimal that people don’t have cause for worry. In an interview with the Winona Daily News, Franz said that contaminants probably are in groundwater but “below the concerning level.” Even if amounts are “just above” state standards, as the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says, it’s possible to treat that,” Franz said. Meanwhile, she said, the county should be commended for continuing to remove PFAs from the landfill’s leachate before it can be absorbed into groundwater.
Franz. At Winona State she’s a campus sustainability expert. Her courses include analytical chemistry and environmental chemistry.
Already in your body
Franz noted that PFAs are in almost everybody’s bloodstream but hardly at a dangerous level and going down. Why going down? Because manufacturers stopped producing PFA-containing products between 2000 and 2002, Franz said. Around 2006, she added, international companies began pledging to phase them out. There needs to be concern, though, that materials containing PFAs — like carpets, Teflon and stain-resistant materials — are still around and will disappeared only gradually, she said.
Presence slight in water
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s acceptability level of 70 PFA parts per trillion is exceptionally cautious, Franz said. If a person drank water containing PFAa at the EPA’s recommended level for an entire life, there would not be any health issues, she said. The 70 ppt level is roughly equivalent of one ounce of water flowing by Winona in the Mississippi River in 3.85 minutes.
Inglorious entry. The landfill is closed, as you can tell if you strain your eyes really hard at the county’s weathered and shabby sign on Highway 43 toward Wilson. How serious is the county about keeping people out? Any $2 bolt-cutter from Menards will take out the $2 padlock on the gates. Image: Steve Lunde