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Public meeting on December 6 to provide update on PFAS contamination in Oscoda

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 16, 2017

CONTACT: Angela Minicuci, 517-241-2112

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) will host an open house and public meeting to provide updates about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in groundwater and drinking water wells at and near the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 6, at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church located at 5300 US-23, Oscoda, Mich. This a different location than previously held meetings.

Staff from MDHHS, District Health Department No. 2, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the U.S. Air Force will be available for one-on-one conversations from 2 to 4 p.m. The community meeting will begin at 6 p.m. 

In December 2015, the U.S. Air Force and MDEQ discovered PFAS, previously discussed in the community as PFCs, in drinking water wells near the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base. Since that time, additional private wells continue to be sampled for PFAS. As PFAS results from the private wells become available, those results are being provided to the individual well owners along with recommendations.

Property owners whose drinking water well has been impacted by PFAS from the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base are being offered alternate water while a permanent solution is developed.  In October 2016, MDHHS recommended that the list of well owners being offered alternate water be expanded to include those properties between Van Etten Lake and Lake Huron, from the US-23/F41 split extending north to Chippewa Road. Wells that are tested outside of this area are being evaluated individually.

PFAS are man-made chemicals that are used in products such as firefighting foams, waterproofing and stain resistant products, non-stick cookware, and grease-resistant food packaging including fast food wrappers. In Michigan, there are sites across the state where products that used PFAS were disposed of improperly or used for applications that were not known at the time to be a public health risk.

For more information about activities near the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base, visit www.michigan.gov/wurtsmith. For more information about Michigan’s overall response to PFAS, visit www.michigan.gov/pfasresponse.

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