Posts by Molly Davis
Cottage Grove group calls for higher standards for 3M after decades of PFC pollution
For decades, 3M has manufactured perfluorochemicals, or PFCs, in the broader Twin Cities area. The chemicals, used in a variety of 3M products, including fire retardants and paint, have left a toxic legacy: contamination of drinking wells and the Mississippi River. That pollution, at issue in a recently filed state lawsuit, is drawing attention to the broader impacts of industry in the area: One community group is asking the state Pollution Control Agency (PCA) to take into account the total effect of industrial pollution on community health as Minnesota revises several of 3M’s environmental permits.
GOP plans broad environmental, energy reforms in Legislature
House Republicans are putting together a comprehensive environmental and energy agenda that they say will promote business and cut down bureaucratic red tape while protecting water, air and other natural resources. Among the provisions: expanding nuclear and coal energy in Minnesota, speeding the permitting process for facilities that discharge pollutants or manage waste products, and promoting the use of “greener” chemicals by farmers. Environmental groups are expressing concern over some of the measures.
Minneapolis researcher plans treatment program for kids with face blindness
Minneapolis researchers say face blindness — the inability to recognize faces — may affect 1-2 percent of the population, a rate similar to autism. The condition, known to scientists as prosopagnosia, can isolate sufferers, keeping them from recognizing colleagues and even family. But a University of Minnesota researcher who believes children with prosopagnosia are often misdiagnosed says he’s planning a program to help.
