PFAS in Michigan: Health Implications and a Successful Containment Remediation Case Study

Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are designated as Emerging Contaminants by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Emerging contaminants present unique risk communication challenges because of a limited understanding of the toxicology of these chemicals. Bill Farrell of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) will describe MDHHS’ approach for communicating risks to residents from exposure to PFAS in drinking water. The presentation will include a discussion of MDHHS’ recently developed Public Health Screening Levels (SL) and how the SLs, as well as other lines of information, are used to determine public health response actions for residents who may be exposed to PFAS in their drinking water wells.

Ryan Moore, Great Lakes District Manager at Regenesis, will present a case study of the effective, in-situ, use of colloidal activated carbon in mitigating PFAS migration in groundwater at the Michigan Army National Guard, Camp Grayling Facility. Regenesis is based out of Northwest Indiana just outside of Chicago. They develop, manufacture and market advanced, innovative technologies for the restoration or remediation of natural resources such as groundwater and soil. Regenesis’ efforts are driven by and focused on technology performance, customer needs and cost-effectiveness. Their technologies are supported by the highest level of scientific research and technical support within the industry.