Some Wisconsin legislators are pushing to curtail the use of firefighting foams that contain potentially toxic chemicals and establish standards that limit how much of the substances can safely exist in the state's groundwater, air and soil.
Firefighting foam can contain polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which are man-made chemicals that research suggests can decrease female fertility, increase the risk of high blood pressure in pregnant women and lower birth weights. PFAS have been used for decades in a range of products, including foam, non-stick cookware, fast-food wrappers and stain-resistant sprays. The chemicals have been drawing more scrutiny as potentially toxic contaminants in recent years.
Tyco Fire Products discovered in 2013 that soil and well contamination on its Marinette fire training property contained PFAS. In 2017, the company acknowledged that the chemicals had spread beyond the facility. A month later the company began distributing bottled water to residents whose private wells may have been contaminated.