Targeted Minnesota site-specific criteria for PFOS

November 3, 2020

For additional information see MPCA website

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is releasing a pair of new PFOS protective values for fish consumption (called “site-specific water quality criteria”) – one is for fish tissue, the second is a surface water value that supports meeting the fish tissue value:

The value for fish tissue is a maximum 0.37 nanograms PFOS per gram in fish tissue (ng/g)
The value for water is a maximum 0.05 ng/L PFOS in water

This is not a statewide standard. This is a targeted site-specific water quality criteria for Lake Elmo and connected waterbodies, Bde Maka Ska and Pool 2 of the Mississippi River. These are new values for the East Metro area, and updates to existing values for Bde Maka Ska and Pool 2 that were more than 10 years old, and needed to be updated to the new criteria values to reflect the recent changes in the science of PFAS impacts.

Along with MPCA’s new protective values, Minnesota Department of Health is extending “do not eat” fish consumption advice to lakes and streams in the Project 1007 Area of Washington County with PFOS measured in water at levels similar to or higher than Lake Elmo.