Groundwater contaminated with PFAS in Marinette, Wisconsin is slated for environmental remediation. Marinette, a small town located in northeastern Wisconsin, is home to the headquarters of the Tyco Fire Products unit of Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI). According to the Wisconsin DNR, the Marinette PFAS remediation will be the most expensive PFAS cleanup in the state. Some estimates place the cleanup effort at more than $140-million.

Detection levels up to 254,000 ppt were reported in groundwater samples for PFOA and 64,000 ppt for PFOS, as detailed in the Wisconsin DNR’s website report following the Marinette PFAS contamination. Soil, surface water, and sediment were also found to contain PFOA and PFOS. Residents with contaminated drinking water are being supplied with bottled water and/or water filtration systems as an interim action by JCI/Tyco.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently reported that PFAS-containing foams used for firefighting “were tested and sprayed on the property for decades. Since then, the cleanup has expanded, including removing compounds from waterways and providing bottled bottled and water treatment systems to some residents. Last month, the DNR ordered Johnson Controls to broaden its assessment of the pollution by testing soil and groundwater, and surface water, where PFAS-contaminated sludge from Marinette’s wastewater treatment system was spread on more than 3,500 acres.”

The Wisconsin DNR is planning a public meeting in September to discuss long-term water supply options.

PFAS contamination continues to be discovered at sites throughout the United States. According to the Environmental Working Group, “EPA tests have detected PFAS pollution in public water supplies for 16 million Americans in 33 states, but that is considered a severe underestimate of the scope of the problem. EWG and researchers at Northeastern University have tracked 172 PFAS contamination sites in 40 states, and drawing on unreleased data from the EPA tests, EWG estimates that water supplies for as many as 110 million Americans may be contaminated. “

Merit is a national leading PFAS environmental laboratory, analyzing soil, wastewater, groundwater, drinking water, and other sample matrices. Merit is certified for the analysis of PFAS by ISO/IEC 17025. Analytical method certification for PFAS includes drinking water by EPA 537 rev. 1.1 and wastewater | groundwater | surface water by ASTM D7979 with Isotopic Dilution. Please contact Merit Laboratories for assistance on your PFAS testing needs.