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Report: 10% of Michigan water systems have detectable levels of PFAS

(file photo)
steve carmody
/
Michigan Radio
(file photo)
(file photo)
Credit steve carmody / Michigan Radio
/
Michigan Radio
(file photo)

A new report finds PFAScontamination in about one in ten public water systems in Michigan.

PFAS compounds (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have been linked to serious health problems.  The chemicals were used in a variety of products, from firefighting foam to food packaging.

And in recent years, PFAShas been turning up in people’s drinking water in Michigan.

Last year, Michigan’s PFAS Action Response Team tested 1,723 public water systems around the state, serving nearly 80% of state residents. Samples were collected from community water supplies, schools on their own well, child care providers (and MI Head Start programs) on their own well, and tribal water systems. The sampling tested the water for 14 different PFAS compounds.

90% of the systems tested showed no detectable levels of PFAS.

7% showed levels below 10 parts per trillion.

3% tested at between 10 and 70 parts per trillion. The city of Parchment and an elementary school near Grand Haven tested above the federal action level (70PPT).

The state is conducting follow testing in systems with detectable levels of PFAS. 

Copyright 2019 Michigan Radio

Steve Carmody has been a reporter for Michigan Radio since 2005. Steve previously worked at public radio and television stations in Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky, and also has extensive experience in commercial broadcasting. During his two and a half decades in broadcasting, Steve has won numerous awards, including accolades from the Associated Press and Radio and Television News Directors Association. Away from the broadcast booth, Steve is an avid reader and movie fanatic. Q&A