© 2024 WNMU-FM
Upper Great Lakes News, Music, and Arts & Culture
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Records: Tyco knew of contamination 4 years before reporting

MARINETTE, WI (AP)--   State records show a Wisconsin company that makes firefighting foam knew it was contaminating groundwater at least four years before it notified residents.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources records say Tyco Fire Products discovered soil and well contamination on the Marinette manufacturer's fire training property in 2013. The contamination involves a class of chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which are linked to cancer and other health issues.

In 2017, Tyco acknowledged that the chemicals had spread beyond its facility and provided bottled water to residents.

Spokesman Fraser Engerman says Tyco didn't report the discovery in 2013 because there wasn't the level of awareness and information about PFAS as today. Tyco also says it didn't know about contamination beyond the property until 2016.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.