After contaminated water containing toxic chemicals were discovered in a number of homes in the Belmont area, Governor Rick Snyder has established statewide regulations for the water Michiganders drink.
Governor Snyder announced the new regulations on Tuesday, they are to go in effect immediately.
The new rules control the acceptable amounts of per-and-poly floralalkyl substances allowed in water. The chemicals, commonly referred to as PFAS, can lead to a number of health concerns including liver and kidney cancer if consumed according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Under the new regulations issued by Governor Rick Snyder’s office, the residential and nonresidential drinking water criterion is 70 parts per trillion for the combined concentrations of PFOA and PFOS, “which sets an official state standard and action level for acceptable concentrations of these contaminants in ground water used for drinking water purposes,” according to a press release.
Prior to the governor’s announcement, the EPA had already established that water containing PFAS above 70 parts per trillion is unsafe to drink.
Wolverine Worldwide in the 1960’s used ScotchGuard containing PFAS to waterproof shoes. Waste from that tannery was discarded in dump sites in the Belmont and Rockford area. Over time, the toxic chemical made its way into a number of resident’s private wells.
According to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, a number of homes have tested for PFAS at levels deemed unsafe to drink by the EPA.
