What caused the horrific deformities of Minnesota frogs in the 1990s? startribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from startribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Judy Helgen is a retired research scientist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. She worked to develop biological monitoring of wetlands water quality based on aquatic invertebrate communities; co-developed a citizen wetland volunteering monitoring program; and led the state's investigation into widespread deformed frogs especially in the late 1990s. She's the author of "Peril in the Ponds: Deformed Frogs, Politics, and a Biologist's Quest." She earned her PhD at the University of Minnesota in zoology/aquatic biology.
The state's health standard for nitrates in drinking water is 10 mg/L. Many wells exceed this level, but the state does not test nor does it oversee water quality of private drinking water wells.