DETROIT (AP) — Michigan businesses are discharging large amounts of chemical contaminants into the state’s waterways every day, according to a newspaper investigation.
State officials began testing 93 treatment plants in February through an Industrial Pretreatment Program to examine discharge being sent by commercial customers.
MLive.com obtained documents through the Freedom of Information Act that show 16 of the plants received written orders over the past year to reduce industrial sources of perfluorinated chemicals, or PFAS, found in their discharges.
Exposure to PFAS has been linked in epidemiological studies to some cancers, thyroid disorders, low birth weights, elevated cholesterol and other chronic diseases.
At least 130 businesses have been considered as potential sources of PFAS.
Many of the businesses releasing chemicals are plating companies that make chrome parts for the auto industry.
“We haven’t used it in almost six years,” Lacks Enterprises CEO Nick Hrynyk said of the chemicals.
“But it’s still there because it just clings.” The highest recorded discharge level was 240,000-ppt of PFAS from Bronson Plating to the Bronson wastewater plant, which is about 25 miles south of Battle Creek.
The plant discharges into Swan Creek, which connects to the St. Joseph River and Lake Michigan.
Environmental advocates say the numbers are concerning.