High levels of 'forever chemicals' found in well at 3M plant on the outskirts of Wausau

MADISON – A 3M plant in Wausau is providing bottled water to its employees after very high levels of "forever chemicals" were found in the drinking water provided by a private well.

3M's Greystone plant, on the outskirts of Wausau, found PFAS in its drinking water and is planning to take corrective action to return the water to safe levels, according to the company. The location has PFOA at 210 parts per trillion, and PFOS at 310 parts per trillion, for a combined total of 520 parts per trillion, according to sampling data on the DNR's website.

In the meantime, employees are being asked to avoid drinking the water in favor of using the water coolers.

"It is important to note that the company has historically supplied a water cooler on site," spokesperson CarolynLaViolette said in an email. "When we informed our employees of the sampling data, we also asked that they continue to use the cooler for drinking water."

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Currently, state standards are 70 parts per trillion for both compound, either alone or combined. The recommended federal standards for the two compounds are 4 parts per trillion, putting the Greystone location well above both numbers.

Kyle Burton, the field operations director of the Bureau of Drinking and Groundwater at the Department of Natural Resources, said the well with the high levels only provides drinking water to employees at the facility. The company has notified employees, and is providing bottled water for those who want it.

"They have posted a notice with information about PFAS levels in the well water at all locations where tap water is available and held meetings with employees to discuss the situation," he said in an email.

Burton said the DNR is working with the facility on long-term solutions at this point, but has not pinpointed where the PFAS may have come from.

"It is important to note that DNR has not identified a possible source of PFAS contamination in 3M Greystone’s well," he said. "The DNR is also working with the facility to get more information about the extent of its operations.

Wausau has one of the most extensive PFAS contaminations in the state, with all of its drinking water wells impacted by the chemicals. To combat the issue, the city is working to install a granulated carbon filtration system, which is currently the best way to extract PFAS from water.

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It is not clear where the contamination at the 3M location came from, or if it is at all related to the elevated levels of PFAS in Wausau's wells.

Mayor Katie Rosenberg said there are a lot of questions at the moment, but not a lot of answers.

"Obviously the PFAS contamination that was found at the Greystone plant is alarming," she said. "It's a lot higher than anything we've found in our wells, so you kind of wonder about the source of contamination."

3M is currently under scrutiny nationwide for its role in manufacturing PFAS and distributing the compounds without warnings to buyers. Earlier this year, the company agreed to pay up to $10.3 billion over a 13-year period to public water suppliers that have detected the substances in drinking water across the nation.

3M is among the world's largest manufacturers of polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

Rosenberg said Wausau is poised to consider whether or not it will join in the massive lawsuit, or retain its rights to seek compensation from 3M outside of the lawsuit, if needed.

About PFAS

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a family of man-made chemicals used for their water- and stain-resistant qualities in products like clothing and carpet, nonstick cookware, packaging and firefighting foam.

The family includes 5,000 compounds, which are persistent, remaining both in the environment and human body over time.  The chemicals have been linked to types of kidney and testicular cancers, lower birth weights, harm to immune and reproductive systems, altered hormone regulation and altered thyroid hormones.

The chemicals enter the human body largely through drinking water. PFAS have been found across Wisconsin.

Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X at @SchulteLaura.