A recent report and interactive map shows that Michigan is the nationwide leader for known PFAS contamination sites.
Michigan leads the country with 28 known contamination sites in at least 15 communities.
The group of toxic chemicals have been found all over the state since the Department of Environmental Quality began looking at private wells and air bases in recent years.
The Environmental Working Group found that the number of known PFAS sites has skyrocketed nationwide since 2016.
Bill Walker, the Editor-in-Chief at the Environmental Working Group, says there are still several unknown sites because the EPA isn’t really looking for them.
“There really hasn’t been a nationwide systematic attempt to look at all potential sources of contamination,” Walker said.
Walker says a national health advisory for this family of chemicals would help prevent further exposure. He even goes as far as saying the EPA should test every possible source of contamination regardless of the costs associated with it.
“The more we keep finding out about this problem, the more places we keep discovering it, we think it’s the appropriate level of response,” he said.
PFAS have been linked in previous studies to several forms of cancer and other health issues.
Private wells in Michigan have tested as high as 800 times the EPA’s advisory level of 70 parts-per-trillion.
You can read the full report and look at the interactive map at the EWG’s website.
