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A massive plume of toxic chemicals produced by a factory that makes fire-fighting foam seeped through groundwater and into Green Bay on Lake Michigan, scientists said Tuesday.
These chemicals belong to a family of compounds known as PFASs, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and are widely used in consumer products ranging from nonstick cookware and water repellent sports equipment to stain resistant carpets. increase. It is also an important component of firefighting foam. They can accumulate in the human body and persist for long periods of time, and exposure can lead to cancer and other health problems.
Groundwater and streams near Tyco Fire Products in Marinette, Wisconsin are contaminated with foam from the factory’s test facility.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin tracked the movement of chemicals in nearby groundwater and streams. A report released last week said the plume reached Green Bay, he stretched 120 miles along the south coast of northeastern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Water samples suggest the plume is about 2.49 miles wide, but it’s unclear how far it extends along the bay, said Christy Remical, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. says.
“A lot of PFAS from that source is pouring into Lake Michigan, and it’s going to be hard to contain it,” Remkal said in an interview Tuesday. It is difficult to
Scientists have detected 17 PFAS chemicals in one of the largest bays of the Great Lakes. Since the 1940s, thousands of different PFAS compounds have been manufactured.
A PFAS concentration of 250 ppt was found in a water sample taken along the coastline of the Marinette region. This is much higher than levels detected in previous studies of rivers draining into the Gulf, Remkal said.
It also far exceeds the 70ppt health risk threshold set by the US Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water for two common PFAS compounds known as PFOS and PFOA. Officials said last June that the chemical is dangerous even at undetectable levels, and issued new guidelines setting the trigger to near zero.
Remucal and colleague Sarah Balgooyen used chemical fingerprinting technology to trace Green Bay PFAS to the Tyco facility.
The Wisconsin Attorney General last year sued Tyco and Johnson Controls, which merged in 2016, over PFAS contamination in the Marinette area.
In a statement Tuesday, Tyco welcomed the Green Bay study funded by the Wisconsin Sea Grant College Program, saying it has invested “tens of millions of dollars” to address Marinette contamination. These efforts include a “large-scale” groundwater treatment system, soil excavation, and work to provide a “long-term drinking water solution” in the region.
PFAS compounds have been found in all five Great Lakes: Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior. Unlike contaminants such as PCBs that stick to sediments, they don’t naturally degrade in the environment and move freely in water, Remkal said.
Dan Jones, associate director of the PFAS Research Center at Michigan State University, said the findings are important because they are based on a wider variety of compounds than most PFAS projects.
“We don’t measure things as extensively as this group,” Jones said, adding that the study is unusually thorough in tracking pollution sources through streams, groundwater and Green Bay. added.
As for how PFAS chemicals affect Great Lakes fish, many of the topics the Michigan State Center is investigating remain unclear, Jones said.
“We do know that these compounds are taken up by things that live in lakes…including certain fish that we humans consume,” he said. We don’t know as much as we’d like to know in which fish it accumulates, why, or if it varies from compound to compound.”
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