Yes, we have laws in place to protect us, but what happens when those laws are violated? And how can we recover our health when the damage has been done? These and many other questions are on the minds of many as they learn that the Tennessee River, once pristine, was the dumping source for a company out of Decatur, Alabama for over a decade.
One of the industrial chemicals admitted to being released (perfluorobutane sulfonamide) is increasingly found in trout and other fish species.
1057 NEWS | News Staff | 21 June 2019
A 3M plant in Decatur, Alabama has admitted in a letter to the EPA that it violated a federal toxic substance law by releasing illegal chemicals into the Tennessee River.
The letter was sent to the Environmental Protection Agency on April, 3, 2019, in it 3M admits to the non-compliance of a 2009 update to the Toxic Substances Control Act.
A Washington, D.C. based law firm sent the letter on behalf of the company:
“On behalf of 3M Company (”3M”), I am writing to voluntary disclose non-compliance with Section 5(e) of the Toxic Substance Control Act (“TSCA”), at 3M’s Decatur, Alabama Plant.”
The statement continues saying, 3M admits to releasing perfluorobutane sulfonamide (FBSA) and possibly fluorinated sulfonamide alcohol (FBSEE) into the Tennessee River.
3M is authorized to manufacture and process FBSA and FBSEE at it’s Decatur Plant per a 2009 consent order from the EPA. However the same consent order prohibits the company from releasing those chemicals into “any waters of the United States.”