Business

Markussen pledges to help mitigate PFAS trouble

Published

3 years ago

March 19, 2021

Solving the PFAS pollution problem on French Island will be a top priority for Vicki Markussen, if she’s elected mayor of La Crosse.

Markussen spoke Friday with reporters at the La Crosse Airport, which was found to be the source of PFAS found recently in dozens of wells nearby. She’s concerned about the health of those families, and people who worked with firefighting foam containing those chemicals.

“Those impacted are our friends, our classmates, our co-workers, and our family members,” said Markussen, also mentioning the firefighters who have handled the foam. “This is a no-win situation for all of us, and we must work together to find solutions.”

Also, “we must expand testing around the 1970’s plane crash that occurred, on the northwest side of the island.”

The former Chamber of Commerce director referred to new media reports that the chemicals apparently were used after a November 1970 crash of a small plane, north of the airport. Most of the recent testing has focused on areas south of a site where PFAS were used after a fatal plane crash in 2001.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.