A company hired to help extinguish a fire that gutted a northern Illinois chemical plant this week used foam containing toxic compounds that have tainted surface waters and groundwater across the U.S., officials said Thursday.
The private contractor sprayed the foam for about three hours Tuesday at the Chemtool Inc.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/ap-foam-pfas-illinois-plant-fire/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/pfas-bottled-water-makeup-filthy-fifty-list-corporations-toxic-packaging/
LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — More than 500 wells on French Island have been contaminated with some level of PFAS chemicals, according to final results of state testing.
The La Crosse Tribune reported Friday that 538 wells on the island just west of La Crosse showed some level of the chemicals and 165 of them had levels above the state’s recommended 20 parts per trillion hazard standard.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/ap-tests-pfas-contamination-500-french-island-wells/
A decades-long monitoring project in the Great Lakes basin has started checking for PFAS in rain. It’s finding the forever chemicals across the basin in large amounts.
Those numbers aren’t published yet, but PFAS are showing up in concentrations higher than legacy contaminants like mercury, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and pesticides.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/raining-pfas-outpacing-legacy-contaminants/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Department of Natural Resources issued new consumption warnings Wednesday for fish taken from the Yahara chain of lakes and waterways in Dane and Rock counties after tests showed elevated levels of PFAS contamination.
The advisories apply to fish taken from Wingra and Starkweather creeks, lakes Monona, Kegonsa, Waubesa, Upper and Lower Mud lakes and the Yahara River downstream to the Rock River.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/ap-wisconsin-dnr-pfas-fish-consumption-warning/
For Rebecca Esselman, the mission is clear even if there isn’t a big spotlight on her work.
Her goal is to protect the Huron River and its environs, a diverse 900 square miles of land that includes farmland, urban centers, suburban sprawl and intact forest. The river itself runs for 125 miles before emptying into Lake Erie.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/michigan-watershed-council-support-municipal-boundaries/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/pfas-news-professor-stories-study-high-levels-fertilizer/
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said the results of a statewide sampling program does not indicate widespread contamination of drinking water supplies by a class of highly toxic chemicals used in products like nonstick cookware, carpets, firefighting foam and fast-food wrappers.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/ap-pfas-pennsylvania-third-samples/
By John McCracken / Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
This story was originally published by The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting is a nonprofit, online newsroom offering investigative and enterprise coverage of agribusiness, Big Ag and related issues through data analysis, visualizations, in-depth reports and interactive web tools.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/pfas-contamination-residents-wisconsin-struggle-aftereffects/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/michigan-governor-minnesota-landfills-wisconsin-business-dnr/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said Thursday that the state will provide free bottled water to about 4,300 residents of French Island in La Crosse County due to concerns about groundwater pollution from PFAS “forever chemicals” that have been linked to causing cancer and a wide array of other illnesses.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-pollution-concerns-bottled-water-french-island/
By Todd Richmond, Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Legislature moved Tuesday to kill limits on PFAS pollution and to allow therapists, counselors and social workers to continue to try to change gay and transgender people’s sexual orientation.
The Senate and Assembly both took up a bill blocking a state Department of Safety and Professional Standards rule that would have prohibited so-called conversion therapy.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-wisconsin-legislature-moves-to-kill-limits-on-pfas-protect-conversion-therapy/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/pfas-news-roundup-indiana-introduces-pfas-bills-michigan-citizens-unhappy-about-8-month-disclosure-delay/
LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — The city of La Crosse filed a lawsuit Thursday against a host of chemical manufacturers that produced firefighting foam linked to groundwater contamination around the city’s airport.
Tests have revealed at least 40 wells around the airport on French Island are contaminated with man-made chemicals known as PFAS.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-la-crosse-sues-foam-makers-pfas-pollution/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/pfas-news-pennsylvania-utillity-michigan-officials-wait/
By Elena Bruess, Circle of Blue
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/minnesota-plan-pfas-contamination/
After spending several months reporting on the PFAS crisis, an alarming realization hit — taco night might be poisoning me.
I learned that the type of nonstick pans that I used to fry the fish usually contain the toxic chemicals, also called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Research alerted me to their use in some types of parchment paper used to roll tortillas, while the aluminum foil in which I wrapped leftovers raised a red flag with its “nonstick” label.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/pfas-home-testing-pets-blood-household/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/pfas-fish-wildlife-researchers-michigan/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/pfas-minnesota-biden-epa-regulations/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/pfas-michigan-indigenous-wisconsin-fish-dnr-legislation/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Tests have revealed elevated levels of man-made chemicals known as PFAS in Madison-area lakes, state environmental officials said Thursday.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources collected samples last year from lakes Mendota, Monona, Upper Mud, Waubesa and Kegonsa, as well as along sections of the Yahara River between the lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/ap-tests-reveal-elevated-pfas-levels-madison-lakes/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/pfas-news-lake-superior-smelt-wisconsin-settlement-mcdonalds-epa/
LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — Dozens of La Crosse-area wells are contaminated with forever chemicals known as PFAS, tests revealed.
At least 40 wells that provide private drinking water on French Island are contaminated with PFAS levels above recommended standards, the La Crosse Tribune reported Wednesday.
The findings come after La Crosse tested more than 100 private wells downstream from the La Crosse Regional Airport, which is situated on the northern half of the island along the Black River.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/ap-tests-pfas-contamination-40-la-crosse-wells/
By Oliver Morrison, PublicSource, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
A single PFAS chemical featured in the movie “Dark Waters” last year about contamination from a Teflon plant in Parkersburg, W.Va. resulted in a $670 million court settlement. A community study showed the chemical was linked to six diseases: kidney cancer, increased cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, preeclampsia and testicular cancer.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/pfas-chemicals-pittsburgh-scientist/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/michigan-politicians-water-problems-activists-fixes/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/pfas-news-roundup-michigan-wisconsin-study-vaccine/
Long-lived chemicals that were banned years or even decades ago in the U.S. and Canada are still turning up in the bodies of fish and migrating terns in the Great Lakes, and they continue to affect the health of those threatened birds.
Scientists found all three chemicals they checked for in the brains and livers of more than two dozen common terns, at all life stages – chicks, juveniles and adults.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/legacy-pollutants-great-lakes-terns-emerald-shiners/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/pfas-huron-river-michigan-new-york/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Eric Freedman, Capital News Service
To keep healthy this fall, deer hunters have more to worry about than just COVID-19 and the flu.
On the beware list: a group of chemicals known as PFAS and lead from ammunition.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/hunters-contaminated-game-pfas-lead/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/pfas-news-landfills-wisconsin-action-plan-congress/
BELMONT, Mich. (AP) — A woman who was honored by the federal government for her environmental activism in western Michigan has been diagnosed with cancer.
Sandy Wynn-Stelt told WOOD-TV that her thyroid and lymph nodes were removed last week. She has lived for more than 30 years across from a Kent County site where Wolverine Worldwide dumped PFAS-tainted sludge.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/ap-michigan-pfas-activist-cancer/
Sandy Wynn-Stelt, a resident of Belmont, Michigan, known for her fight against Wolverine World Wide and PFAS, earned the 2020 Citizen Excellence in Community Involvement Award from the U.S. EPA.
Wynn-Stelt is featured in Great Lakes Now’s documentary, “The Forever Chemicals,” which brought audiences the story of her journey as she discovered the extent of the PFAS contamination in her private well and in her community.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/citizen-excellence-sandy-wynn-stelt-receives-epa-award-for-efforts-to-combat-pfas/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/pfas-news-roundup-pfas-puts-pregnancies-at-risk-nestle-and-la-croix-among-waters-with-elevated-pfas/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — State environmental and health officials warned people Tuesday to avoid eating the livers of deer harvested around the Marinette area to avoid exposure to PFAS chemicals.
PFAS are man-made chemicals that research suggests can cause a range of health problems in humans. The chemicals have been used for decades in a range of products, including nonstick cookware, fast-food wrappers and firefighting foam.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/ap-dnr-pfas-deer-livers-wisconsin-marinette/
By Lynne Peeples, Ensia, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
This story is the first in a nine-month investigation of drinking water contamination across the U.S. The series is supported by funding from the Park Foundation and Water Foundation.
Once a week, Florencia Ramos makes a special trip to the R–N Market in Lindsay, California.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/drinking-unsafe-water-contaminants-solutions/
By Timberly Ferree, Indiana Environmental Reporter
Indiana University and Purdue University have each been awarded $1.6 million Environmental Protection Agency research grants to better understand the potential impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on water quality and availability in rural communities and agricultural operations across the United States.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/indiana-universities-pfas-impact-water-quality/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/pfas-news-roundup-pfas-in-fast-food-packaging-every-madison-well/
Michigan is at the forefront of states in the U.S. when it comes to taking action against per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a group of manmade chemicals found in a wide range of consumer products as well as firefighting foam.
On Monday, Michigan’s new statewide PFAS maximum contaminant levels took effect, and they are currently among the most comprehensive and strict standards in the country in limiting the amount of PFAS in drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/pfas-michigan-legislative-push-action/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/pfas-new-compound-artic-seawater-michigan-rules/
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Clean water activists hope that water suppliers will remove an industrial pollutant under new water standards adopted Thursday in New York.
The state’s Public Health and Health Planning Council adopted standards that set a maximum level for how much of the hard-to-remove chemical 1,4-Dioxane can be in drinking water: 1 part per billion.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/ny-activists-rules-pollutants-drinking-water/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/pfas-michigan-wisconsin-legislation-foam-covid-19/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/pfas-michigan-foam-pfas-covid-19/
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine you are on a roller coaster ascending the first and highest hill on the ride. You hear the click, click, click as the car slowly climbs to the top and you start getting excited, even nervous, the closer you get to the peak.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/michigan-history-environmental-contamination/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/pfas-amazon-lawsuit-epa-michigan-wisconsin/
It’s still a pandemic, so we didn’t get to attend a gala – in fact I was still in filthy workout clothes when I got the news on Saturday night.
But I can’t imagine it was any less thrilling for any of us on the Great Lakes Now team that produced “The Forever Chemicals” when we all learned we won a Michigan Emmy in the Health/Science – Program/Special category for “The Forever Chemicals,” which premiered 15 months ago on Detroit Public TV.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/emmy-pfas-forever-chemicals-documentary-prize/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/pfas-epa-limits-new-york-burn-plant-wisconsin/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/pfas-wurtsmith-remediation-wisconsin-new-york-michigan/
The eight Great Lakes states and Canada are approaching PFAS contamination in their own ways and setting their own standards.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/pfas-standards-actions-state-canada/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan oversight panel Thursday endorsed drinking water standards designed to limit exposure to a group of household and industrial chemicals linked to a variety of health problems.
The proposed rules would apply to seven compounds in a category known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/02/ap-michigan-oversight-panel-pfas-limits/
