environmental Strategist, between the lines: I have been talking for years how storms water runoff is a big exposures for any insured you work with that owns property, performs construction, farms, etc.. Here is a simple example to share with your insured’s about a manufacturer that created a storm water problem through their air emissions.
Four years of investigation, natural resource damages, fish consumption warnings, I hope this company has pollution insurance.
Calhoun pollution traced to nearby firm
The chemical that contaminated fish in southwest Minneapolis came via storm water from St. Louis Park.
By TOM MEERSMAN, Star Tribune
State pollution officials have solved a four-year-old mystery about the source of fish contamination in Lake Calhoun.
A St. Louis Park company used a chemical formerly made by 3M, and it entered the southwest Minneapolis lake through a storm water system, said Ralph Pribble, spokesman for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Although the PCA didn’t identify the company, Douglas Corp., which has five manufacturing plants in Minnesota, acknowledged Thursday that air emissions from its St. Louis Park plant may have contributed to the chemical, known as PFOS, being found in the sewer system leading to Lake Calhoun. Company spokesman Blois Olson said the company is cooperating with the investigation.
The contaminant is part of a family of man-made chemicals known as perfluorochemicals (PFCs). Olson said the company, which provides plating services, used the chemical for a “significant” number of years but stopped using it this year at the plant 1 1/2 miles west of the lake. He said the company hasn’t violated any law or permit, noting that the use of PFCs is not regulated under any state or federal law.
A University of Minnesota researcher first detected PFOS in Lake Calhoun’s water in 2004. It was formerly used in Scotchgard and other products. State scientists did additional testing in 2006 and found the chemical both in the water and some fish in 2007.
Early on, researchers couldn’t explain the source of the contamination, because Lake Calhoun is not near any known areas where 3M manufactured or disposed of the chemical.
Minnesota health officials said the lake’s water is no danger to boaters, swimmers, or pets, but they issued a fish consumption advisory in 2007 that remains in effect. It recommends that anglers eat no more than one meal per month of bluegills or crappies from Calhoun, and no more than one meal per week of the same species caught in.