Laboratories Offering Home Testing
PFAS MCLs and Drinking Water
Statewide Testing Initiative
PFAS Sites and Areas of Interest
There are two major classes of firefighting foam: Class A and Class B. Class B is also called Aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) and is usually created using PFAS. It is a highly effective foam used for fighting high-hazard flammable liquid fires, like gasoline, oil, and jet fuel.
Wastewater Treatment Plants / Industrial Pretreatment Program
Official Correspondence
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July 24, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The head of the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) today testified before Congress calling on the federal government to provide additional resources to combat per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination.
Speaking before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Environment, MPART Executive Director Steve Sliver outlined Michigan’s $50 million effort over the past two years to investigate and clean-up PFAS contamination caused by manufacturing facilities and military bases across the state and to protect the public from high levels of these contaminants in drinking water.
“Michigan is engaged in all these efforts with very little support from the federal government, Sliver said. “USEPA has not established national, enforceable standards, despite evidence that PFAS are in our drinking water and that some PFAS have been associated with adverse health effects.”
Given the slow pace of federal action on PFAS, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this year directed Michigan officials to move forward with the development of the state’s own standards for PFAS in drinking water.
Sliver briefed the subcommittee on Michigan’s efforts to protect the public from contamination identified at more than 60 active and abandoned industrial and military sites throughout the state. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is currently coordinating efforts with Attorney General Dana Nessel to secure commitments from responsible parties like Wolverine World Wide in Rockford and the U.S. Air Force in Oscoda to clean up the former Wolverine tannery and Wurtsmith airbase and provide long-term drinking water solutions for residents.
“We will continue to hold responsible parties accountable for contamination they cause,” Sliver added. “Michigan urges the Federal government to move more swiftly in addressing PFAS issues. We also urge Congress to ensure proactive states, like Michigan, are provided financial assistance to ensure that our citizens are protected from these chemicals.”
PFAS compounds are a group of emerging and potentially harmful contaminants used in thousands of applications globally including firefighting foam, food packaging, and many other consumer products. These compounds also are used by industries such as tanneries, metal platers and clothing manufacturers. The discovery of PFAS contamination is a nationally growing trend across the United States.
In 2019, Gov. Whitmer strengthened MPART by reestablishing it under Executive Order 2019-3 as a permanent body within EGLE.
Sliver’s testimony and details on Michigan’s multi-agency approach to addressing PFAS contamination and protecting public health is available at Michigan.gov/PFASResponse.
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Personnel from the ARNG along with representatives from local and state health departments visited Grayling on August 20 to distribute notification letters of test results along with bottled water to homes that have been found to exceed the new MCL.
Personnel from the ARNG along with representatives from local and state health departments will be in Grayling July 23 - 25 to distribute notification letters of test results along with bottled water to homes that have been found to exceed the new MCL.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued the following statement in support of this welcome development for national consistency in protecting Americans from these toxic “forever chemicals.”
Interest in the fourth annual virtual Great Lakes PFAS Summit is high, with 1,200 registrants from all 50 states and eight countries to date. The deadline for registration is Dec. 1.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) today announced that it has established new water quality values (WQVs) for the PFAS compounds Perfluorohexanesulfonic Acid (PFHxS) and Perfluorononanoic Acid (PFNA). PFHxS and PFNA are members of the larger group of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has established a new Water Quality Value (WQV) for perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) and has revised the existing WQV for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Following the risk assessment method provided in Rule 323.1057 (“Rule 57”), a PFBS concentration of 670,000 parts per trillion (ppt; or nanograms per liter) was set for surface water to be broadly protective of human health and 8,300 ppt for surface water specifically protected as a drinking water source. The revised human health values for PFOA are 170 ppt for surface water (from 12,000 ppt previously) and 66 ppt for surface water protected as a drinking water source (from 420 ppt, previously).