Photo: Children catching panfish at the mouth of Starkweather Creek, summer 2018
By Chris Hubbuch, Wisconsin State Journal
See full article here.
State environmental regulators have found high levels of hazardous chemicals known as PFAS in Madison’s Starkweather Creek.
Levels of two compounds — PFOA and PFOS — were measured at concentrations more than 15 times the proposed limit for groundwater recommended by state health officials and nearly 30 times the levels considered safe by Michigan, one of the few states to adopt surface water standards for the chemicals, according to test results released Monday by the Department of Natural Resources.
Though the creek is not a source of drinking water, PFAS compounds can accumulate in fish to levels much higher than in the water itself.
Tests also found high levels of PFAS in the Wisconsin River near Rhinelander and Monroe County’s Silver Creek near Fort McCoy. Readings from the Mississippi River were below Michigan’s surface water limits.
The results are from the first round of samples taken this summer from five bodies of water near known or suspected PFAS contamination sites, including firefighting training grounds and two spots where elevated levels were previously found in fish and wildlife.
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