Wisconsin Manufacturer Finds Groundwater Pollution At Plant

A manufacturer in northeastern Wisconsin has discovered new evidence of groundwater pollution near Lake Michigan involving a chemical that has raised national health concerns.

Tyco Fire Products said this month that it discovered perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, in well samples at its manufacturing plant in Marinette. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had directed Tyco to test for PFCs at the wells, which are part of a separate cleanup of arsenic.

Tyco produces specialized firefighting foams that can extinguish gas and oil fires. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that PFCs are used in products such as firefighting foam and have been linked with increasing cancer risks and development problems in fetuses.

Tyco says it’s investigating the source and extent of the groundwater contamination by testing soil, ditches and surface water.