Environmental Industry Updates
The Latest News on Scientific and Regulatory Updates from Merit Laboratories
A panel of scientists have released an advisory report on the Scientific Evidence and Recommendations for Managing PFAS Contamination in Michigan. The report is authored by the Michigan PFAS Science Advisory Panel with support from state agency staff. Over the next few months, Merit Laboratories will provide detailed overviews of this report to provide a close look at the scientific panel’s findings, studies, and recommendations.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued an update for the on-going investigation into PFAS contamination at the Wolverine Worldwide Tannery and House Street site in Rockford, Michigan. According to the update, the contamination comes from Wolverine Worldwide’s former tannery in Rockford and a waste dump known as the House Street Disposal Area in Belmont.
Residents living in northern Kent County are being recruited to participate in a PFAS Exposure Assessment. The exposure assessment, conducted by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Kent County Health Department (KCHD), will evaluate the relationship between drinking water contaminated with PFAS and the amount of PFAS in the body.
As an industry leader in PFAS testing, Merit Laboratories is pleased to announce that it has purchased additional PFAS analytical testing instrumentation. The instrumentation addition will increase Merit’s PFAS testing sample capacity. Merit added the Agilent 6495B Triple Quadrupole LC/MS to its instrumentation roster because of recent technical advances.
The State of Michigan is developing a readiness and response plan to coordinate quick response when PFAS contamination is identified. The plan is the result of an executive directive issued by the governor on October 2. Communities across Michigan are dealing with PFAS contamination issues that require expedited response to the health threats presented by PFAS compounds.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) is deploying drones to fly over Lake Margrethe to search for cold water springs that could be carrying PFAS contamination into the lake near Camp Grayling. The MDEQ believes this is the first-ever usage of drones to search for PFAS contamination.
While testing for PFAS in water sample matrices captures most of the attention, the analysis of soil for PFAS is growing in importance. Environmental scientists are working hard to identify and investigate the presence of PFAS contamination in soil. Soil site investigation efforts are increasing in importance as regulatory agencies and communities are looking to identify the sources of PFAS contamination.
In May, we shared with you information about a national PFAS contamination site tracker being maintained by Northeastern University’s Social Science Environmental Health Institute (SSEHRI). At the time, there were 17 sites in Michigan on the SSEHRI PFAS Contamination Site Tracker list. In just four months, the number has increased to now include 28 Michigan sites with PFAS contamination.
The State of Michigan has started posting PFAS testing results from the statewide drinking water initiative for schools using well water. The state has created a database of PFAS results for public review. The school drinking water results are posted here. The second part of the statewide initiative involves PFAS testing of public water supplies and these results are posted here.
