“Versluis Lake is safe to swim in despite scares of toxic fluorochemicals in municipal water in Plainfield Township and other nearby communities, according to township officials…
According to Plainfield’s Superintendent Cameron VanWyngarden, Versluis Lake is directly in the path of a PFAS plume from a former landfill at the northeast corner of the East Beltline and 4 Mile Road…
During the 1960s, sludge waste from the Wolverine tannery was dumped at the State Disposal Landfill at 3945 East Beltline Ave. NE, as MLive’s Garret Ellison reported.
VanWyngarden said the township asked officials with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Natural Resources and Department of Health and Human Services on the safety of the water and followed up by saying they had no concern on swimming in the lake.
The last test of Versluis Lake showed PFOS at 3.5 parts-per-trillion (ppt) and PFOA at 6.3 ppt. While the state and Kent County Health Department are responsible for testing and determining whether public swimming water is safe, the Michigan PFAS groundwater investigation FAQ states:
‘You may bathe and swim in water containing PFAS. The PFAS do no easily absorb in to the skin. It is safe to bathe, as well as doing your laundry and household cleaning. It is also safe to swim in and use recreationally. Getting water with PFAS on your skin will not harm you.’ ”
Read the full article by Madison Bennett