LANSING, MI (AP)-- A Michigan regulatory oversight board has temporarily paused state drinking water standards that would limit allowable levels of certain toxic industrial chemicals.
MLive.com reports the committee voted Thursday to wait two weeks before deciding whether to delay or approve draft maximum contaminant levels for seven compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, called PFAS.
The substances, widely used in firefighting foam, nonstick cookware and other products, have been dubbed "forever chemicals" because they persist so long in the environment.
The Environmental Rules Review Committee is staffed with business and industry representatives selected by former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.
The panel was created last year by the GOP-controlled Legislature. Republican lawmakers overrode Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's effort to eliminate the panel while she restructured the former Department of Environmental Quality.
