Several wells in Hamilton test positive for PFAS contamination
HEATH TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team opened a new investigation in Hamilton and declared it an “area of interest” for new PFAS contamination.
The area was added to MPART’s list of active investigations last week. According to the task force, seven wells in the area have confirmed levels of PFAS above the state’s drinking water safety standards.
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The highest found levels were 50 parts per trillion of PFOA — perfluorooctanoic acid — and 28 ppt of PFOS — perfluorooctane sulfonic acid. The safety standard for PFOA is 8 ppt and 16 ppt for PFOS.
The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy are working alongside the Allegan County Health Department on the investigation. For now, the study area is bounded by Lincoln Road and Hubbard Street, and from 134th Avenue north to the Rabbit River. MPART has yet to find a potential source for the PFAS contamination.
Every home and business in the area relies on private wells for drinking water. There is no nearby municipal water system.
PFAS — or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are a large group of compounds first developed in the 1940s and incorporated into all sorts of products for waterproofing and heat resistance. Decades later, research showed that PFAS compounds take a long time to break down organically and can build up in the human body, causing serious health problems including cancer.
The chemical compounds are so widespread that the CDC estimates that 99% of all Americans have a detectable level of PFAS in our bodies.
The policy advocate Environmental Working Group says there are now more than 5,000 confirmed PFAS-contaminated sites across the United States, including at least one in each of the 50 states, Washington D.C. and two American territories.
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According to MPART, groundwater in that area flows north-northwest toward the Rabbit River, which is a tributary of the Kalamazoo River, which flows into Lake Michigan.
MPART is planning to test several more nearby wells in the coming weeks.
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