The MacDermid site is located at 1221 Farrow Street, in Ferndale, Oakland County, Michigan. The property is a triangular-shaped parcel of approximately 8.8 acres. It is bounded on the north and east by various industrial properties and on the southwest by the Canadian National (former Grand Trunk) railroad line and container yard.
The MacDermid property is used for the manufacture, blending and distribution of specialty chemicals for the metal finishing, electronics, and surface finishing industries. A series of environmental investigations at the facility have identified concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), metals, and per and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in site soils and groundwater above Michigan's cleanup criteria.
Actions taken by MacDermid to address these concentrations include the excavation and removal of contaminated soils and groundwater from two former lagoons and executing a restrictive covenant on the property deed to limit land use to industrial activities, prohibit use of groundwater, and prohibit subsurface construction activities without following health and safety plans.
