3M Co. has asked a judge to postpone a long-awaited trial, set to begin next week, over groundwater contamination in Washington County, citing a new Health Department report that cast doubt on whether the affected communities suffered health damage.

The state report, released Wednesday, concluded that there were no higher rates of cancer, premature births or low-birthweight babies in communities where drinking water was contaminated by a class of 3M chemicals known as PFCs. An environmental researcher hired by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, who is suing 3M, concluded last fall that some communities did suffer adverse health effects.

Hennepin County Judge Kevin Burke is scheduled to hold a hearing Friday afternoon to consider 3M’s motion and other pending legal issues in the case, which is set for trial starting Feb. 13.

In a motion, 3M attorneys argued that the Health Department’s findings, which echoed those released in 2007 and 2015, “destroy” the attorney general’s argument that human health impacts from 3M waste, legally dumped at four sites in Washington County years ago, contribute to up to $5 billion in damage she is claiming.

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