(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Two northwest suburban communities are teaming up for possible legal action after part of their water supplies were contaminated by an industrial chemical.
PFAS is a chemical used to make products resistant to heat, oil, stains, grease, and water.
Federal regulators believe the chemical can be harmful to people, but it's not clear how much of a risk it poses.
One municipal well in Lake in the Hills and two others in neighboring Cary were shut down as a precaution after the chemical was detected.
Fred Mullard, village administrator for Lake in the Hills, said the communities have retained law firms for a possible class-action lawsuit against companies that make the chemical. The idea would be to recover the costs of cleaning up the contamination, he said.
