Millions of Americans are unknowingly being exposed to cancer-causing forever chemicals that are contaminating the nation’s largest water supply.

Officials in three Great Lakes region states have issued advisories against consuming local wildlife and fish. Recent tests indicated these animals contain significant amounts of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), which are hazardous chemicals associated with thyroid issues and developmental problems.

While no warnings have been issued regarding drinking water from the lakes, in May, Michigan advised residents to steer clear of foam on the water’s surface as it might also be contaminated with PFAS.

In Wisconsin, the contamination warning is extensive, covering a 1,600-square-mile area of Lake Michigan known as Green Bay.

Residents are urged not to consume fish or other aquatic organisms from this area, as well as wildlife that might be toxic due to ingesting PFAS-polluted water. Additionally, they are cautioned against eating fish or deer found around northern state lake systems.

In neighboring Minnesota, locals are similarly advised to refrain from eating fish from 10 counties, including one adjacent to Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes, after tests showed high PFAS levels.

Meanwhile, in Michigan, officials have placed warnings on 98 of the state’s 11,000 inland lakes, advising against consuming fish from these waters, a number that has tripled since the previous year.

It is not clear what has caused the contamination, but experts say PFAS can seep from factories, landfills and wastewater plants into streams and rivers that then carry the compounds into the Great Lakes.

Testing has detected PFAS in each lake, with Lake Ontario and Lake Michigan reported to contain the highest levels of the substances.

Residents of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin have been warned to limit consumption of fish and certain hunted animals in the Lake Michigan area (file photo)

Responding to the reports on Facebook, one resident wrote, ‘clean it up!’, while another said, ‘it’s almost as if these creatures can’t fly between other areas’.

A third added, ‘maybe [officials] should have done something to keep these PFAS out of the bay before we got to this point’, and a satirical post online branded the local duck population the ‘cancer ducks’. 

The Great Lakes region is the largest body of freshwater in the US and supplies an estimated 40million homes in America and Canada with drinking water.

But officials are particularly concerned at this time of year because it is the start of the duck hunting season, which lasts until late November, while the fall period is also considered an excellent time to catch salmon and trout.

The alerts recently raised have specifically been for Lake Michigan and surrounding areas, although PFAS has also been detected in fish in the other Great Lakes. 

PFAS are microscopic chemicals used in dozens of manufacturing processes, from cookware to clothes, carpets, food packaging and makeup. 

The chemicals can seep into the environment, where they take thousands of years to break down and can enter water and the food supply.

Researchers have already warned that exposure to the chemicals may raise the risk of cancer, as the substances can disrupt the natural processes in cells and cause damaging mutations.

Scientists are also investigating a potential link between the chemicals and reduced fertility and autoimmune disorders.

And Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has vowed to get the chemicals out of the public food and water supply.

Speaking to reporters in April this year while visiting a farm in Texas, he told WFAA that the administration would aim to end the production of PFAS chemicals.

The above map shows the area of Lake Michigan where residents are being advised not to consume, or to limit consumption, of ducks caught there

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also reduced its safe limit for PFAS exposure amid growing evidence of the potential harms from about 70 parts per trillion in a lifetime in 2022 to four parts per trillion today.

In Wisconsin, officials are warning people not to eat any ducks caught on Lake Michigan directly next to the city of Green Bay, home to 100,000 people.

For the rest of the bay, they are advising residents not to consume more than one mallard duck per month or one wood duck per week due to the contamination, based on the levels of PFAS detected in the animals.

Overall, about 330,000 people live around Green Bay in Wisconsin, while there are an estimated 73,000 waterfowl hunters in the state.

Residents in Stella, a town in northern Wisconsin home to less than a thousand people, are being advised not to eat fish from the Moen lake system or deer within five miles of the town.

In Minnesota, residents are being warned not to consume fish caught in 10 of the state’s 83 counties, including in the Twin Cities area, home to about 3.7million people, over the contamination.

Officials have not put in place a warning for ducks at this time as they said they do not have the resources to track PFAS in the animals.

Hunters in three Great Lakes states have been warned not to consume everything they catch (stock image)

In Michigan, state authorities are also warning people not to eat fish caught in 98 of the state’s inland lakes and water systems over concerns they are contaminated with PFAS.

Ducks may be contaminated with PFAS by drinking water containing the substance or consuming aquatic life, such as insects or plants, that contain PFAS.

Over time, regularly consuming organisms contaminated with PFAS can cause the chemicals to accumulate in their bodies, often to high levels.

In Stella, Wisconsin, officials have blamed the Rhinelander Paper Mill for the widespread contamination, noting an inspection from last month that found the plant was releasing the chemicals onto the soil.

The owner of the mill, Ahlstrom Rhinelander LLC, says it is ‘carefully reviewing’ the inspection report that led to the suggestion.

PFAS is used in paper mills to help apply grease, oil and water resistant properties to paper products, particularly food packaging.

PFAS chemicals have been detected in the Great Lakes region since the early 2000s, and have repeatedly triggered alerts warning people not to eat wildlife.

Officials say it is still safe to wade in waters, hunt animals or go for walks or hikes in the area, just that it is not safe to consume the local animals.

Hunters are being warned not to eat ducks amid the start of the area’s duck hunting season (stock image)

There are also no warnings in place over drinking water drawn from the lakes, which may be filtered to remove the PFAS contamination. 

The states are tracking PFAS levels in animals by analyzing tissue samples submitted to them by hunters every year. 

The warnings came ahead of this year’s duck hunting season, which starts this month and lasts until late November.

Roger Hanson, President of the Green Bay Duck Hunters Association in Michigan, told Fox11News: ‘This is probably the last thing that you want to read about or hear about… [before] the opening of the south zone duck season.

‘The mallard is the staple of the duck population, and that’s what duck hunting is all about.’