(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- New research is finding that more and more of our drinking water is contaminated with so-called "forever chemicals," but a cleanup project in Wisconsin is proof that the problem can be solved.
Forever chemicals are durable compounds - often related to long-ago industrial production that exist in drinking water.
"Usually when people say forever chemicals these days, they're talking about PFOS, but PCB's are another chemical that's very similar in the sense that it's toxic at low levels and lasts for decades or centuries in the environment," said David Allen, a retired wildlife biologist based in Marquette, Mich.
A comprehensive study from the environmental protection agency found that forever chemicals exist in water systems that serve large cities and small towns and that the drinking water for 26 million Americans could be contaminated.
Allen said its a problem that has a solution. He points to an effort to clean up contamination from paper mills in the Fox River and Green Bay in Northern Wisconsin, which was the end result of years of litigation.
"The public is now more aware of these problems. I think the press is more aware of these problems," Allen explained. "Environmental groups are more aware and that might give agencies and politicians to realize the can win."
The Fox River and Green Bay project wrapped up in 2020 at a cost of a billion dollars.
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