In Peshtigo, Wisconsin residents have been exposed to high levels of a group of toxins known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in their groundwater. PFAS have difficulty breaking down in the environment and are thus called “forever chemicals.” Issues with PFAS include high blood pressure in middle-aged women and stunted developmental growth in children, as well as kidney and testicular cancers.
The PFAS within the community comes from a local manufacturing facility the produces firefighting foam which had spread through the town’s groundwater networks. Creeks within the area have reported PFAS levels as high as 3,800 ppt while groundwater wells near the facility reporter concentrations of 2,100 ppt, or 30 times the state’s drinking water standards.