Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of thousands of human-made chemicals that do not break down over time. PFAS are sometimes called “forever chemicals” due to their extreme longevity in the environment and resistance to destruction. PFAS pollution threatens human health, the environment, and our economy.
Minnesota is a leader in reducing PFAS risks by preventing, managing, and cleaning up pollution through the goals outlined in the PFAS Blueprint. This work is essential because many PFAS are known to be hazardous to humans in extremely small amounts over time. Several specific PFAS are linked to increased risks for cancer, liver disease, immune system dysfunction, and other negative health impacts. PFAS can also negatively impact aquatic organisms and wildlife.
Sources
The risk of environmental pollution and human exposure begins when PFAS are made and persists for decades or centuries after products containing the chemicals are disposed of. PFAS may be best known for their use in certain types of non-stick cookware, stain repellants, and firefighting foam, but these chemicals have been used in thousands of products and industrial processes since the 1940s.
PFAS can enter and contaminate the environment from many sources, including old, unlined landfills and industrial waste sites. PFAS can then enter our bodies through the water we drink and the fish and other foods we eat. To address the problem of PFAS pollution in the environment, it's important to understand how PFAS move through the environment.
PFAS contamination has been caused by:
- releases to the air, which results in soil, surface water, and groundwater contamination
- releases to surface water, which results in surface water, fish, sediment and potentially groundwater contamination
- releases to soil, including during use of PFAS-containing fire-fighting foam, which results in soil, surface water, groundwater, and fish contamination
East Metro contamination
In Minnesota, PFAS contamination was first discovered in the eastern suburbs of the Twin Cities where 3M disposed of PFAS-containing waste in a manner that contaminated over 150 square miles of drinking water, surface water, and soil. In the early 2000s, this led to more than 170,000 people in 14 communities requiring emergency treatment of drinking water or alternative sources of safe drinking water. Additionally, this contamination led to significant levels of PFAS building upaccumulating in fish; tissue in the region, and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) continues to recommend that people not consume fish from several waterbodies in the region. In 2010, the Sstate of Minnesota sued 3M, which eventually resulted in a $850 million settlement to help offset the costs of providing clean drinking water and recovering damaged natural resources in the East Metro suburbs.
A global and statewide concern
PFAS pollution is found across the world and at sites in each of Minnesota’s counties. State agencies have detected PFAS in 98% of closed landfills across Minnesota and in 84% of fish in water bodies selected for monitoring. As of August 2025, 21 community water systems in Minnesota exceed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for PFAS. Only four of these community water systems are currently part of the 3M settlement.
Human health and environmental concerns
There is a risk of PFAS exposure and pollution whenever a product containing PFAS is made, used, or disposed of. There are many different PFAS, and each may impact health differently. Some PFAS can build up and stay in the human body for many years. PFAS can be measured in the blood of most people around the world, including Minnesotans. This family of chemicals have been linked to many negative health effects. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has resources with more information regarding health impacts and how to reduce your exposure.
MDH also develops guidance values based on toxicity assessments to protect those most highly exposed and most sensitive populations such as pregnant people, fetuses, infants and children. This information helps determine potential negative health effects based on level of exposure. MDH has set guidance values for drinking water, regulatory values for PFAS in surface water, fish, and soil. Health risk information and the MPCA's risk assessment information for soil and sediment contamination and water quality criteria are used in work to prevent and remediate PFAS contamination.
Mounting costs
Identifying responsible parties behind PFAS pollution can be difficult, leaving taxpayers, patients, and insurers with the bill for cleanup and medical costs.
Total costs for protecting drinking water to National Primary Drinking Water Regulation standards will exceed $1 billion in Minnesota, including drinking water treatment, investigation, and remedial actions to address the PFAS contamination. Removing PFAS from wastewater would help break cycles of environmental contamination; however, doing so with current technology is unaffordable. According to an independent study funded by the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, removing and destroying PFAS from wastewater and biosolids in Minnesota would cost between $11 billion-$25 billion over 20 years. On a per-pound basis, this type of clean up would cost $2.8 million-$18 million per pound of PFAS. In comparison, purchasing PFAS costs between $50-$1,000 per pound.
PFAS treatment and destruction costs are in addition to PFAS expenses in the health care system, which are difficult to quantify.
Minnesota’s strategy: the PFAS Blueprint and prioritizing prevention
In 2021, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), MDH, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources combined their experience with PFAS into an interagency approach called the PFAS Blueprint. The overarching strategy to PFAS pollution is three-pronged: prevention, management, and clean up. As part of the effort, over 200 facilities in Minnesota have monitored for PFAS and are taking follow-up actions.
PFAS pollution prevention protects human health and taxpayers from costly PFAS investigation and clean up expenses. Prioritizing prevention became possible in 2023 when Minnesota enacted new legislation, including Amara’s Law, which phases out nonessential PFAS use by 2032.