A Chicago Tribune investigation identified 1,654 potential sources of PFAS statewide.
According to the Tribune, this was discovered “through a national analysis of industry codes that designate the type of products manufactured or used at a particular factory.”
The Illinois EPA did not begin testing the state’s water utilities for PFAS until August 2020, reported The Chicago Tribune. The investigation included an analysis of test results and a review of court documents, government records and scientific studies.
More than 8 million people in the state get their drinking water from a utility where at least one PFAS chemical has been detected, according to The Chicago Tribune investigation.
Chicago provides treated Lake Michigan water to more than 5 million people in the city and suburbs. According to the city, more than 60% of the Illinois facilities are in Chicago and its suburbs, but 85 of the state’s 102 counties have at least one potential source of PFAS.
However, water utilities in Illinois are not legally required to protect their customers from PFAS.
According to The Chicago Tribune investigation, the Chicago Department of Water Management did not adjust its treatment methods after detecting PFOS in treated Lake Michigan water during 2009 and 2011.
Department officials said the Illinois EPA’s 2020-21 investigation did not find PFAS at the city’s two treatment plants.
A quarter of the Illinoisans exposed to the chemicals in drinking water are customers of utilities that exceed the state’s guidelines for at least one PFAS, according to the Tribune investigation.
There are three documented sources of PFAS pollution in Illinois so far: two are unnamed Chicago metal plating shops and the other is a 3M chemical plant in Rock Island County.
