Communities around the Great Lakes, already reeling from widespread PFAS contamination, are pushing lawmakers to restore stricter federal standards and boost cleanup efforts amid concerns over weakened environmental protections.
Brian Bienkowski reports for The New Lede.
In short:
- A virtual congressional briefing led by the Northeast-Midwest Institute featured scientists and advocates urging federal action to address PFAS contamination across the Great Lakes, highlighting military sites like Michigan’s Wurtsmith Air Force Base as major sources.
- PFAS chemicals, found in products from firefighting foam to nonstick cookware, are accumulating in Great Lakes water, fish, and communities, posing health risks including cancer and immune system damage; Michigan alone has 11,000 contaminated sites.
- A bipartisan PFAS Task Force in Congress and a proposed five-year reauthorization of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative seek to counter the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent delays and potential rollbacks in PFAS drinking water standards.
Key quote:
“These problems devastated our way of life.”
— Tony Spaniola, co-chair of the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network
Why this matters:
Linked to cancers, hormone disruption, and developmental issues, "forever chemicals," or PFAS, have quietly spread through water systems, air, and food chains for decades. The Great Lakes, which provide drinking water to over 30 million people and sustain an intricate web of fish and wildlife, are particularly at risk. Even remote areas are affected as PFAS drift through the atmosphere and fall in rain. These chemicals accumulate in fish and humans alike, especially in communities that rely on subsistence fishing, like many immigrant and Indigenous groups around the lakes. The health burden lands hardest on vulnerable populations already grappling with other environmental and economic challenges.
Related EHN coverage: “Forever chemical” replacements on the rise in the Great Lakes
