Waste destruction system in Lake Elmo aims to remove PFAS from water
How new technology at Lake Elmo is aiming to remove PFAS from water
How new technology at Lake Elmo is aiming to remove PFAS from water
Efforts are underway in Lake Elmo to remove dangerous PFAS chemicals from the environment.
Friday morning, technology was unveiled that's focused on destroying PFAS.
"Here in Lake Elmo, we are the epicenter of PFAS. We don't want to be," said John Holtz, a Lake Elmo councilmember.
Lake Elmo is a community that's been dealing with PFAS for years. They are dangerous and potentially cancer-causing chemicals once created by 3M, that have found their way into drinking water. It's why the city is welcoming this waste destruction system.
"We, in essence, have behind me today a large pressure cooker, a little bit more complicated though, that destroys any kind of hazardous, organic waste," said Gary Hopper of General Atomics.
General Atomics and Bay West are companies who partnered to create this demonstration. It's called a Perses system, and it uses chemistry to destroy contaminants.
"You take water, and you mix all these dangerous organics in it. Then what happens is you pressurize it and go to high temperature and the reaction kinetics are so violent they just rip apart the molecules," said John Follin of General Atomics.
Designers said that it's not just PFAS the system destroys, but it also eliminates a number of other dangerous chemicals.
When everything is removed, salt water is left behind. The Lake Elmo demonstration is temporary, but it is something that could eventually become permanent.
Fifteen million dollars in funding came from the Department of Defense, which is responsible for environmental cleanups. The goal is to eliminate PFAS now, for families and future generations.
"We are in this together. We are one team making sure our constituents have safe drinking water," said DFL Rep. Betty McCollum.
"It is a nationwide challenge that affects us, in our states and municipalities," said John Glabach, Bay West CEO.
Rep. McCollum said they've secured $600 million nationwide to address PFAS on military bases and in communities.
The funding is for research, detection, public outreach and PFAS destruction, like what's currently happening in Lake Elmo.
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