Former Lowell landfill named a PFAS contamination site - WOODTV.com
Former Lowell landfill named a PFAS contamination site | WOODTV.com
BOSTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — The Michigan PFAS Response Action Team has named the former Lowell City Landfill as an area of interest for contaminated groundwater.
The City of Lowell has conducted environmental testing on the site since 2019. Well samples taken in July by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy showed multiple PFAS compounds at concentrations above the state’s safety standards.
One type of PFOS — perfluorooctane sulfonic acid— was found at 18 parts per trillion. The safety standard for groundwater is 16 ppt. Another type of PFOA — perfluorooctanoic acid— was found at 26 ppt, well above the state safety standard of 8 ppt.
The property along Ware Road was used as a landfill from 1958 through 1983. According to MPART, it was closed “due to improper management and maintenance practices.”
“Groundwater under the former landfill has been measured to flow generally to the north-northeast,” MPART said in a release. “Unnamed drainage creeks are located to the north, which lead to the Grand River, which is located approximately 0.75 miles north of the site.”
Based on these results, the city has agreed to expand its testing radius to include nearby private wells, specifically near Deerhaven Park Drive and Valley Vista Drive. Municipal water is not available for property near the former landfill site.
Long-lasting PFAS chemical compounds have made headlines for years in West Michigan as more contamination sites are found, and scientists learn more about the health impacts of the chemical compounds. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a large group of compounds first developed in the 1940s and incorporated into all sorts of products for waterproofing and heat resistance. Decades later, research showed that PFAS compounds take a long time to break down organically and can build up in the human body, causing serious health problems including cancer.