Read the full article by Ryan Stanton (MLive)
“ANN ARBOR, MI – Ann Arbor officials have reported finding PFAS in the city’s compost.
As part of continuing efforts to investigate sources of the harmful fluorochemicals and eliminate contamination, which is also showing up in the city’s drinking water, the city recently turned attention to its compost facility off Platt Road.
It’s there where items such as leaves, shredded twigs and kitchen food scraps that residents place in curbside compost bins are turned into decomposed organic material that is then used as nutrient-rich plant fertilizer.
Some of it ends up being used as topsoil in city parks, and free compost is available to city residents in the spring, in addition to being sold through city vendor WeCare.
Compost samples collected Oct. 25 tested positive for low levels of 13 types of PFAS, ranging from 0.04 parts per billion to 17 ppb, the city stated in a news release Tuesday, Jan. 28, sharing a test-results chart dated Jan. 22.
Water samples collected Oct. 25 from two retention ponds at the city’s compost facility also tested positive for 12 types of PFAS ranging from 0.44 parts per trillion to 680 ppt.
Water samples are measured in parts per trillion while soil samples are in parts per billion, the city noted.
See complete test results and fact-sheet information at www.a2gov.org/PFAS…
The city uses granular activated carbon filters to reduce PFAS levels in the city’s drinking water from the Huron River, which is polluted with the chemicals.
PFAS that’s removed is incinerated offsite and destroyed so it’s not reintroduced in the environment, according to the city…
The compost tests were conducted by an independent lab, city officials said…”