# Corporate Responsibility Committee *A 3M Company body named in internal fluorochemical records later produced as trial exhibits in State of Minnesota v. 3M.* The **Corporate Responsibility Committee** was a body within the 3M Company. It appears in the public record through one document: a 3M memorandum dated October 19, 1977, from L.C. Krogh to J.D. La Zerte. The memorandum is titled *Presentation to Corporate Responsibility Committee on Progress – Fluorochemicals in Blood* and was later entered as State's trial exhibit PTX1145.[^1] It followed a 3M chronology, exhibit PTX1144, with entries from August 22, 1975, to August 3, 1977. That chronology records that workers' blood carried organically bound fluorine at up to 1,000 times normal levels.[^2] The record does not establish what the committee did with the findings. The committee's name is the company's own description of its function. The documented outputs that follow the October 1977 presentation can be set beside it. According to the State's complaint, 3M announced a plan in 2000 to stop producing PFOS, and Minnesota production ceased in late 2002.[^3] In 2018 the [[Minnesota Attorney General]]'s suit over 3M's perfluorochemical releases settled for $850 million. The Settlement Agreement states that it is "no admission by either Party of fault, responsibility, wrongdoing, or liability."[^4] ## Who The October 1977 memorandum runs from L.C. Krogh to J.D. La Zerte.[^1] A companion letter, exhibit PTX1142, dated August 9, 1977, runs from Belisle to Freier and others.[^5] The State of Minnesota produced both documents in litigation. The State's exhibit index lists roughly 280 3M internal documents dated 1948 to 1983.[^6] The plaintiffs who later put the documents before a court were the State of Minnesota, acting through Attorney General [[Lori Swanson]], the Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), and the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).[^3] Washington County, which co-operated the landfill that received 3M waste, does not appear as a plaintiff in the complaint or the Settlement Agreement.[^3][^4] ## What The chronology entered as PTX1144 tracks 3M's findings on fluorochemicals in human blood:[^2] - an August 22, 1975 report by Guy; - a spectrum matched to PFOS on November 6, 1975; - lab personnel showing 10 to 100 times normal levels in April 1976; - workers showing organically bound fluorine at up to 1,000 times normal on June 29, 1976, persisting "for an indefinite period"; - identification of the compound in human blood on August 26, 1976. The memorandum to the committee concerns the progress of that work under the heading *Fluorochemicals in Blood*.[^1] The pack does not carry the memorandum's text beyond its title and parties. No committee minutes, votes or actions are in the record. ## When - **1969–1975.** The Washington County Landfill in [[Lake Elmo]] was permitted May 12, 1969, and operated to May 1, 1975, according to the MPCA Closed Landfill Program record entered as PTX2752.[^7] - **1971–1974.** 3M disposed of waste at the landfill during this window, according to the federal [[ATSDR]] public health assessment.[^8] A 3M log of trucks dumping waste there is dated April 25, 1974 (PTX1107).[^9] - **August 22, 1975 – August 3, 1977.** The entries of the PTX1144 chronology run between these dates.[^2] - **August 9, 1977.** Companion correspondence PTX1142 is dated.[^5] - **October 19, 1977.** The memorandum to the Corporate Responsibility Committee is dated.[^1] - **2000–2002.** 3M announced a plan to stop PFOS production in 2000, and Minnesota production ceased in late 2002.[^3] - **December 2010.** The State filed suit in [[Hennepin County District Court]], No. 27-CV-10-28862. The complaint was amended in November 2011.[^3][^10] - **February 20, 2018.** Jury selection began, and the case settled the same day before Judge Kevin S. Burke.[^11] ## Where The chronology refers to Chemolite workers. The at-issue record identifies them as workers at 3M's [[Cottage Grove plant]].[^2] 3M's own list of off-site waste disposal locations for Cottage Grove (PTX1872) names the [[Washington County Landfill]], also called the Lake Jane Landfill, with its owner given as "Washington County." The list records the waste received there as "WWTP sludge and boiler ash."[^12] The MPCA record states the landfill "was under public ownership when in operation." It was operated by Washington and Ramsey Counties, covers 35 acres and holds about 2,570,000 cubic yards of waste.[^7] ## How much The State's suit sought $5 billion.[^11] The Settlement Agreement pays $850 million as a grant into the "3M Grant for Water Quality and Sustainability Fund." The MPCA and DNR administer the fund.[^4] The agreement sets up a [[Working Group]] "consisting of representatives of the MPCA, the DNR, East Metropolitan Area municipalities, and 3M." It releases "any and all claims or causes of action known or unknown" relating to perfluorochemicals.[^4] It also designates Judge Burke as "Consensual Special Magistrate" upon his retirement.[^4] The *[[Star Tribune]]* reported the final allocation of the fund:[^13] - $700 million for drinking water; - $125 million for outside legal counsel, assessments and analysis; - $34 million for expedited projects; - $20 million for natural resource remediation; - $4.8 million to reimburse agency costs. The *Bench & Bar of Minnesota* reports that the settlement covered only natural resource damages. It also reports that the Attorney General concluded her office lacked jurisdiction to pursue personal injury claims.[^10] ## How many - **Exhibits.** The State's exhibit index lists about 280 3M internal documents from 1948 to 1983.[^6] - **Lawsuit sites.** The complaint names four sites, including the Washington County Landfill, and pleads six counts.[^3] - **Health data.** The [[Minnesota Department of Health]] released its *Brief Update on Cancer Occurrence in East Metro Communities* in February 2018.[^14] It found female breast cancer 7% elevated in Washington County and 12% elevated in [[Oakdale]]. It found a 56% childhood-cancer excess in Oakdale for ages 0–19 over 1999–2014.[^14] The same report states that its findings "cannot be used to either identify or refute potential adverse health effects from environmental contaminants."[^14] ## In the at-issue record The at-issue record (AI-Washington-001) uses PTX1144 as its primary anchor. It describes the exhibit as 3M's own timeline of what it knew, produced in litigation.[^2] That record pairs the chronology's June 29, 1976 entry and the October 1977 presentation to the committee[^1] with 3M's later activity in Minnesota: - **Production.** 3M continued producing PFOS in Minnesota until late 2002, according to the complaint.[^3] - **Disposal.** The at-issue record also states that 3M kept dumping into the Washington County landfill until 1974. That end date precedes the chronology's first entry.[^8] The sources disagree on the years of use at the landfill. The ATSDR assessment gives a 1971–1974 disposal window, inside the landfill's permitted period.[^8] 3M's PTX1872 prints the years of use as "Mid 1970s/Early 1990s," a range that runs past the site's May 1, 1975 closure.[^12][^7] At the 2018 settlement, 3M's John Banovetz stated that "we have never believed there is a PFC-related health problem," according to *Minnesota Lawyer*.[^11] ## Notes [^1]: 3M (L.C. Krogh to J.D. La Zerte), *Presentation to Corporate Responsibility Committee on Progress – Fluorochemicals in Blood*, State's exhibit PTX1145 (Oct. 19, 1977) — the memorandum, its parties, date and title. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/docs/PTX/PTX1145.pdf [^2]: 3M, *Chronology — Fluorochemicals in Blood*, State's exhibit PTX1144 (entries Aug. 22, 1975 – Aug. 3, 1977) — the 1975–1976 entries, including the June 29, 1976 finding of up to 1,000 times normal persisting "for an indefinite period." https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/docs/PTX/PTX1144.pdf [^3]: Hennepin County District Court, *State of Minnesota v. 3M Company*, Complaint, No. 27-CV-10-28862 — the plaintiffs, six counts, four sites including the Washington County Landfill, the 2000 PFOS phase-out plan and the late-2002 end of Minnesota production. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/docs/Complaint.pdf [^4]: Hennepin County District Court, *State of Minnesota v. 3M Company*, *Settlement Agreement and Order* (2018) — the $850 million grant, fund, Working Group, special magistrate, release and no-admission terms. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/docs/Agreement.pdf [^5]: 3M (Belisle to Freier et al.), companion correspondence, State's exhibit PTX1142 (Aug. 9, 1977) — the companion document to PTX1145. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/docs/PTX/PTX1142.pdf [^6]: Minnesota Attorney General, *State's Exhibits*, *State of Minnesota v. 3M* — the index of about 280 3M internal documents, 1948–1983. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/StatesExhibits.asp [^7]: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, *Closed Landfill Program record, Washington County Landfill*, State's exhibit PTX2752 — the permit and operating dates, acreage, volume, public ownership and county operators. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/docs/PTX/PTX2752.pdf [^8]: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, *PFCs in Lake Elmo, Public Health Assessment* (Aug. 29, 2008) — the 1971–1974 3M disposal window at the Washington County Landfill. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/PFCsLakeElmo/PFCs_in_Lake_Elmo_PHA_8-29-2008_508.pdf [^9]: 3M, *Log of 3M trucks dumping waste at Washington County Landfill*, State's exhibit PTX1107 (Apr. 25, 1974) — the contemporaneous disposal log. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/docs/PTX/PTX1107.pdf [^10]: *Bench & Bar of Minnesota* (bar journal) — the filing and amendment of the suit; the settlement limited to natural resource damages; the Attorney General's view on personal injury jurisdiction. https://mnbars.org/?pg=BenchBarofMinnesota&pubAction=viewIssue&pubIssueID=49569&pubIssueItemID=309286 [^11]: *Minnesota Lawyer*, *3M to pay $850M to settle chemical disposal suit* (Feb. 20, 2018) — the $5 billion sought, same-day settlement, Judge Burke and the Banovetz statement. https://minnlawyer.com/2018/02/20/3m-to-pay-850m-to-settle-chemical-disposal-suit/ [^12]: 3M, *Off-Site Waste Disposal Locations — 3M Cottage Grove*, State's exhibit PTX1872 — the landfill owner, waste types and printed years of use. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Cases/3M/docs/PTX/PTX1872.pdf [^13]: *Star Tribune*, *State finalizes payouts from Minnesota's $850 million forever chemicals settlement with 3M* (Aug. 18, 2021) — the final allocation of the settlement fund. https://www.startribune.com/state-finalizes-payouts-from-minnesota-s-850-million-forever-chemicals-settlement-with-3m/600089057 [^14]: Minnesota Department of Health, *Brief Update on Cancer Occurrence in East Metro Communities* (Feb. 2018) — the elevated rates and the report's own caveat. https://www.health.state.mn.us/data/mcrs/docs/rpteastmetro.pdf