Please note the date change! In order to limit conflicts with the Labor Day holiday weekend and with the AIPG National Meeting (9/10 - 9/13), the September date has been changed from the typical first Tuesday of the month.

 This meeting is on THURSDAY, September 15, 2016!

Registration for the MN Section of AIPG September Luncheon is now open online! The cost is $21 for non-members and $16 for members. Students may attend free of charge. Online registration ends Wednesday, September 14th at 11:00 AM.  Same-day luncheon registration cost is $25.

Presentation Title

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Minnesota: An Update on the Chemicals Formerly Known as PFCs

by Ginny Yingling, Hydrogeologist, Minnesota Department of Health

Presentation

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) began investigating poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in 2003.  Legacy site contamination of groundwater across a large portion of south Washington County has impacted the drinking water supplies of over 140,000 residents, affecting both municipal water supplies and over 1,500 private wells.  Following discovery of PFASs in the east metro, statewide investigations identified other, smaller affected areas in Minneapolis, Brainerd, Bemidji, Duluth, and elsewhere.  The Environmental Protection Agency's recent release of revised Lifetime Health Advisories for perfluoro-octance sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has heightened concerns about these chemicals and public health.  This talk will provide an update on the state's investigations, remedial actions taken to reduce the contamination, and the current sampling efforts in the east metro and elsewhere.

Speaker Biography

Ginny Yingling is a hydrogeologist in the Environtmental Health Division of the Minnesota Department of Health and is the department's lead investigator of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs).  She holds a B.S. from the Pennsylvania State University and a M.S. from the University of Wyoming, both in geology.  She has over 20 years of experience investigating contaminated groundwater sites in Minnesota, working first as an environmental consultant at Twin City Testing, then in the Superfun and Leaking Underground Storage Tanks porgrams at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and currently in the Environemntal Health Division at the Minnesota Department of Health.