Name: Water contaminated with 'forever chemicals,' arsenic spilled at Marinette firefighting foam facility
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Water contaminated with 'forever chemicals,' arsenic spilled at Marinette firefighting foam facility

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Milwaukee Journal SentinelA Marinette-based company known for mixing firefighting foam is under scrutiny after a spill Sunday night that sent water contaminated with arsenic and "forever chemicals"&nbsp;into the Menominee River.&nbsp;&nbsp;Tyco Fire Protection Products, a subsidiary of Johnson Controls, was the origin of the spill, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The water came from the company's facility at 1 Stanton St., and was released&nbsp;from the facility and into a stormwater sewer that feeds directly into the river, the release said.&nbsp;Johnson Controls&nbsp;reported to the DNR that efforts to contain the spill are being made and that the company is attempting to recover the contaminated water and place it into tanks, according to the release.The spill was reported to the DNR about 9 p.m. Sunday, the release said. No other details were available from the government agency Monday afternoon.&nbsp;Fraser Engerman, the director of global media relations for Johnson Controls, said&nbsp;the company takes its role as a good corporate citizen in Marinette seriously."We promptly notified the WDNR of a water line break that occurred at our Stanton Street facility last night," Engerman wrote in an email. "This water line brings water to our facility from the Menominee River.&nbsp;We quickly turned off the water line and immediately put in place appropriate, best-in-class measures to contain and capture the water.&nbsp;"Based on our early analysis, there was a very limited amount of water that went into the storm drain that connects back to the Menominee River.&nbsp;We will continue to communicate with the WDNR on this issue and clean up any remaining water from this break."&nbsp;Tyco Fire Products started testing firefighting foam with perfluorinated chemicals at the training center in Marinette in 1962 and continued the practice until late 2017 when testing was moved indoors, where the chemicals could be captured and transported to a different site for disposal.&nbsp; due to their inability to break down in the environment but were widely used until recently in consumer products because of their ability to repel oil and water. PFAS were commonly found in stain-resistant fabric, nonstick cookware and firefighting foam.&nbsp;The PFAS contamination in Marinette is the most widely known in Wisconsin. In August,&nbsp;Johnson Controls said it was setting aside $140 million in its fiscal third quarter to spend on cleanup.Last year,&nbsp;Johnson Controls argued with the DNR&nbsp;over whether&nbsp;it should be solely responsible for the assessment of the extent&nbsp;of the chemicals&nbsp;when the state agency has agreed that there are other potential sources of pollution.That dispute followed another&nbsp;in which the DNR referred Johnson Controls to the state Department of Justice, alleging it&nbsp;waited four years to report the release of hazardous chemicals at its plant in Marinette. That release resulted in some residents unknowingly drinking water for years that was contaminated.&nbsp;&nbsp;The company has been required to p, to keep residents safe from the chemicals that have leeched into wells from the facility.&nbsp;Most recently, the company has been pushing back against the DNR's calls for more testing of wells that may be contaminated with PFAS because of their proximity to farm fields, which were fertilized with . DNR officials believe the PFAS came from Johnson Controls before the company halted the practice of washing down firefighting foam used for tests. The spreading of biosolids from wastewater treatment plants on farmland is common.&nbsp;In May, the DNR issued a letter of noncompliance to Johnson Controls over the failure to take samples from more wells. On&nbsp;July 13, Johnson Controls formally declined to conduct more testing on those wells, asking the DNR to check for other possible sources of PFAS in the area, according to the DNR website.&nbsp;Laura Schulte can be reached at&nbsp;leschulte@gannett.com and .

Milwaukee Journal SentinelA Marinette-based company known for mixing firefighting foam is under scrutiny after a spill Sunday night that sent water contaminated with arsenic and "forever chemicals"&nbsp;into the Menominee River.&nbsp;&nbsp;Tyco Fire Protection Products, a subsidiary of Johnson Controls, was the origin of the spill, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The water came from the company's facility at 1 Stanton St., and was released&nbsp;from the facility and into a stormwater sewer that feeds directly into the river, the release said.&nbsp;Johnson...

Water contaminated with 'forever chemicals,' arsenic spilled at Marinette firefighting foam facility

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