Can we start by banning PFAS from firefighting foam?

Most of us hadn’t even heard the word before, but now it seems to be everywhere. PFAS have been in the news a lot of late. These are chemicals, known as forever chemicals for their inability to break down, that can cause significant health problems. The chemicals have been found in French Island, thought to be the result of firefighting foam used at the airport. The contamination is more widespread than first thought, with more than 500 private drinking wells showing traces of the chemicals, 139 of them with contamination above allowable levels. They are now receiving drinking water, as they have for months. Meanwhile, lawyers are readying possible lawsuits against the city of La Crosse for allowing the chemicals to seep into water supplies. But amazingly, not much else is being done in the fight against PFAS. Where is the Environmental Protection Agency to, you know, protect the environment? The state of Wisconsin has yet to define what the allowable levels of the contamination should be, if any. And when crews battled that big blaze at a chemical plant along the Wisconsin/Illinois border, they used firefighting foam that still contains PFAS. It seems if we know these chemicals are bad, our governments should take more steps to keep us safe. They could start by keeping PFAS out of firefighting foam to at least keep the problem from getting any worse.