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LINC townhall talks contamination, EPA testing

Courtesy, EPA

A Tuesday night townhall meeting tackles environmental contamination in a Grand Rapids neighborhood.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the LINC Gallery at 341 Hall St. SE.

Speakers include Guy Williams of Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, as well as representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

Residential testing efforts formally began this week after higher-than-allowed levels of air contamination were discovered last month at a site on the corner of Hall and Madison Southeast.

The contamination closed a connected building structure on the site, displacing two non-profits and apartment residents.

The vapors are attributed to a former drycleaner that operated at the site until 1995. Environmental agencies say site issues involve contaminated soil and an area of contaminated underground water, known as a plume.

The agency says residential testing is a precautionary measure.

The EPA hopes to gather samples at about 60 homes and properties in the next week.

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Hilary is a General Assignment and Enterprise reporter for WGVU Public Media. She joined WGVU in September 2014 after several years of experience as a local news reporter, anchor and photojournalist in Midland, Saginaw and Bay counties. She's also worked as a financial and business reporter and audio field producer.