Residential PFAS testing conducted

By TOM LAVENTURE

tlaventure@yourdailyglobe.com

Ironwood Township — Residential testing of private wells for the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the area of the Gogebic-Iron County Airport in Ironwood Township was held early last week, according to officials involved in the testing.

The testing involved contractors with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), with assistance of the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department. The two are working as partners with the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART).

There were 25 residential water samples taken from outdoor spigots and wells on Tuesday and Wednesday, said Michael Jury, an environmental manager with EGLE. There are a few more homes that the team would like to sample, but the owners haven’t yet returned from wintering down south.

“We were able to get a cross section of different types of wells and those samples arrived at the lab on Friday,” Jury said.

The results will be returned within two to four weeks and the information will be shared with the homeowners, he said. A public report will note the number of samples and number of detections and if any exceedance of standard levels require mitigation for a water source, he said.

“Depending on these results we get, and people we may have missed along the way, then there may well be a Phase 2,” Jury said. “I don’t know that yet until I see the results of the sampling.”

The testing was part of the follow-up to determine if there was the spread of toxic chemicals into nearby land, wells and waterways. The presence of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), a class B type of firefighting foams containing highly heat-resistant PFAS was found in areas around a paved apron to the north of the east end of the runway. The area was used for annual training and testing of equipment and some levels exceeded water and soil quality standards.

Tanya Rule, the environmental health director with the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department, said the role of her office was to help identify the homes around the airport area to be tested. MPART originally intended to do 10 wells, but the health department input on the variety of well types, the difference in depth and geology led to testing 25 wells for a better sampling, she said.

“I was just available to the property owners and while the contractors were taking samples, I was just explaining to them what is going on at the airport and answering any questions they had regarding the project and health concerns,” Rule said.

Some of the owners were eager to have the testing done to know if PFAS is present in the drinking water, she said. Others were hesitant to test because of the fear that the knowledge that PFAS was present could potentially decrease property values, she said.

“In general, most people were interested in participating and were concerned about their drinking water and wanted testing,” she said.

An action plan is in place if PFAS is found in the groundwater or any well, Rule said. The whole point of testing is to learn if any PFAS moved off the airport property, she said.

Rule said the local health department helped with identifying wells that are older, shallower and more vulnerable to surface water contamination. Some of the farms and residences in that area still use functioning crock wells and shallow sand wells.

“A lot of these wells are older in nature and not on record with the state,” Rule said.

The Ironwood area in general is a difficult place to drill for quality drinking water, she said. The safest wells are in the bedrock where the consequence is with lower recovery and low volume. A deeper well may encounter higher concentrations of sodium.

“So the drillers try to stay more shallow in that aquifer and they will hydraulically fracture the wells to try and get more recovery,” Rule said. “So there is always a concern about more recovery or salt water in the wells.”

The ongoing role of the local health department will be to follow with the property owners should testing indicates the presence of PFAS in the drinking water and especially if there are exceedances of the health limits, she said. The department would provide bottled drinking water as filters or other types of water treatment systems are installed on the wells, she said.

“Our concern is just to make sure the residents have safe drinking water,” Rule said.

Jay Kangas, Ironwood Township supervisor, was also present for the two days of testing. His role was to answer questions along with the health department, but also as someone who most of the property owners know and could talk more informally with, he said.

“I was with them for about 75% of the testing,” Kangas said. “I think they had from 12 to 14 locations that had sent back their testing sample agreements, and of the ones that didn’t respond we went and talked to them and filled them in a little more about it. All but two agreed to sample.”

Kangas recalled being told the contractors took 28 samples from the 25 properties and the soccer field spigots adjacent to the airport. The extra samples were taken in areas where a second sample confirmation was thought to be necessary for the results, he said.

The samples were driven to Wausau, Wisconsin, to be flown to the laboratory, he said. The results of the samples will be strictly between EGLE and the homeowners, he said.

Some property owners expressed concern that the health department was present, he said. They feared being told they would not be able to use their well, he said.

“We told them that wasn’t the purpose of this and tried to reassure them that if results come back positive then they will do something to treat and filter if need be,” Kangas said.

Kangas said he also reassured homeowners who were concerned about home values that if PFAS were discovered that that the state would do everything it could to help mitigate the problem. That is preferable to not doing anything and having it discovered at the time of a sale, he said.

“We reassured the residents they were there to help them and that it was better to know rather than unknowingly continue to use a well if it tests for PFAS,” he said. “We said it was better to find out what the next step is to make the water drinkable.”

Kangas also lives next to the airport and his property was tested. He shared the concerns of his neighbors, but said he felt the testing was the most responsible thing to do.

“I know that we eventually will get to the bottom of this,” Kangas said. “We are not placing blame on the airport. They are doing what they are required by federal guidelines to do as far as firefighting requirements.”

This is a nationwide issue and appears at this point to be less of a pervasive problem as other parts of Michigan and the country, he said. Wisconsin is attempting to do similar testing but is running into legal hurdles at the state level, he said.

“There could very well be contamination right where the airport does their firefighting training and we might not have any issues anywhere else and that would be great if that were the case.” he said.

Jury said that EGLE will also be sampling water and fish from the Black River to the northeast of the airport, and Six Mile Creek. That testing will occur later in spring or summer when weather and conditions allow.