3M Wausau - Photo by USA Today's T'xer Zhon
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) – Workers at a 3M plant in Wausau are receiving bottled water after tests in the factory’s private well revealed PFAS levels up to seven times higher than the state’s drinking water.
Testing, according to WPR, reveals that levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, were as high as 520 parts per trillion for two of the most extensively researched compounds at the manufacturer’s Greystone plant in Wausau.
DNR representative, Katie Grant, told WPR that the business has informed employees and arranged briefings on the elevated levels of PFAS and no one is being held accountable for the contamination at this time.
“We are working with the 3M Greystone facility officials on a plan for long-term solutions which may include treatment of its well,” Grant said.
Wisconsin set a drinking water limit for the two pollutants last year at 70 parts per trillion. The Environmental Protection Agency’s suggested drinking water limit for PFOS and PFOA is 130 times higher than the combined levels of the two compounds found at the site.
The Minnesota-based business produces and markets goods containing the chemicals, but by the end of 2025, 3M plans to phase out the production of PFAS.
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