However, there IS no drinking water standard for this contaminant, a point made by Rubin of HRWC. MDEQ emphasized that, unlike recent drinking water contamination issues in Parchment near Kalamazoo, over 1,000 municipal water supplies and schools have been tested and have not shown levels of PFAS above 70 ppt - in fact, most have tested at “non-detectable” levels ( MDEQ testing results page here). Several panel members noted that Tribar had been extremely cooperative, and the process had moved quickly - just a few months - to address the problem and implement a solution.
Both cited that this was not an “intentional dumping,” and Kecskemeti explained that “Ideally we want it stopped immediately, but in reality we need to work with companies to address the situation appropriately.” Hamburg Township recently sent a letter to MDEQ asking that the plant be shut down until a clean-up is completed, and several members of the audience displayed signs “Shut It Down,” but Kammer and Tracy Kecskemeti, leader for MDEQ’s Southeast Michigan PFAS r egional team, indicated that it is not that simple. MDEQ is continuing to conduct testing and analysis to narrow the source of the contaminants and assist facilities in pre-treatment. According to Stephanie Kammer, who serves as the Huron River Watershed PFAS project manager for MDEQ, manufacturing plants stopped using PFOS-based suppressants in their facilities by 2015 and often earlier the high levels now being detected in their waste- and storm-water discharge is puzzling since the chemical is no longer being used. The elevated levels being found at these sites is a bit of a mystery that the MDEQ is working to solve. In fact, MDEQ was surprised to find indications of PFAS contamination at the sites, particularly at Coe Cleaners. Both sites have ongoing clean-up efforts managed by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), although PFAS was not a focus of either of these clean-ups. The main source of the contamination in the Huron has been determined to be Tribar Manufacturing in Wixom, although additional sites of concern have been identified as the former Kelsey Hayes manufacturing facility and the former Coe Cleaners, both in Milford, and discharging PFAS into Pettibone Creek which feeds into the Huron. This family of chemicals, found in thousands of household products from carpeting and waterproof and stain-resistant fabrics to cookware, has been associated with several health risks when they are consumed in high concentrations. On Thursday, a panel of representatives from MDEQ and the City of Wixom, brought together by the Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC) and featuring its executive director Laura Rubin, discussed the latest efforts to test for and mitigate PFAS contamination recently discovered in the Huron River.
Little Portage Lake is not included in the advisory at this time. The warning includes all the lakes on the chain that are connected by the Huron River: Kent Lake and Hubbell Pond in Oakland County, and locally Strawberry, Zukey, Gallagher, Whitewood and “Little Whitewood,” Long Lake, Baseline and Portage. This follows reports of even higher PFAS contamination in fish tested from Baseline Lake. The “Do Not Eat Fish” advisory will continue on the Huron River and Chain of Lakes for the foreseeable future as new fish samples from Portage Lake showed high levels of PFAS contamination.
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