Read the full article by Danielle Kaeding (Wisconsin Public Radio)
“After more than two years, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board is set to take up proposed standards to regulate harmful ‘forever chemicals’ known as PFAS in drinking water, surface water and groundwater later this month.
Federal regulators have been aware of the health hazards of PFAS for more than two decades. Even so, the Environmental Protection Agency has yet to develop standards for the chemicals. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is proposing strict standards the agency argues will protect public health and the environment, warning federal standards are still years away.
Wisconsin environmental groups and residents affected by PFAS are at odds with water and industry groups over the DNR’s proposed regulations. Even so, there seems to be agreement that the chemicals should be regulated, said David Strifling, director of the Water Law and Policy Initiative at Marquette University Law School.
‘I think there’s a general agreement that they should be regulated, that we don’t want to be ingesting them and distributing them throughout the environment, but what to do is a subject of much dispute,’ Strifling said.
Here’s a rundown on what people should know about PFAS and the proposed standards that will be considered by the DNR’s policy-setting board Wednesday, Feb. 23.”…