“CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Private tests have found PFAS, a likely carcinogen, in the drinking wells of several homes near the Gerald R. Ford International Airport, according to the company that conducted those tests.
Gordon Water Systems has tested 20 private wells not far from the airport, all at the request of residents, in response to a Target 8 report about the Ford’s use of AFFF firefighting foam.
The company said it found PFAS in four of the wells.
While none of the tests found PFAS above the state’s limit for drinking water, some neighbors said the results show a need for more widespread testing…
Airport officials say they have started investigating but have no immediate plans to test neighboring wells.
Gordon Water Systems Vice President Tom Duisterhof said two of the tainted wells are in the neighborhood of more than 400 homes just east of the airport. Most families in that neighborhood rely on well water. The other two are downstream closer to Ada, near where the Thornapple meets the Grand River, he said. Gordon Water Systems won’t say exactly where due to privacy.
The company charges $300 per test and sends the samples to Pace Analytical EPA-certified labs in Minnesota or Florida.
The highest PFAS level was found nearest the airport. A test result provided by Gordon shows that well with 36.6 parts per trillion of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, one of the two most-studied PFAS compounds. The test also found 15.5 ppt of another, less-studied compound known as perfluoroheptanoic acid or PFHpA.”
Read the full article by Ken Kolker.