An emerging class of toxic chemicals is getting more attention in Madison as worries about contamination from the compounds is growing in Wisconsin.
Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, said Thursday he was supporting legislation to give state regulators more enforcement powers over the chemicals.
Also, two Republican legislators — Rep. John Nygren of Marinette and Sen. Rob Cowles of Green Bay — indicated that they would be advancing a more limited bill that would curtail the use of the chemicals in firefighting foam.
The legislation is coming amid rising national concerns about a group of compounds known as perfluorinated chemicals, sometimes called “forever chemicals” because of their difficulty to break down in the environment.
Frustrated that federal regulators are not moving fast enough to establish standards that would limit amounts that humans could be safely exposed to, states are now taking matters into their owns hands.