Huron River PFAS contamination levels drop after 2-year treatment

Read the full article by Ariana Taylor and Gregg Krupa (The Detroit News)

“Contaminating substances in the Huron River have significantly declined after two years of treatment, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said Thursday. 

EGLE said the decline of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which the FDA describes as a family of human-made chemicals, in the Huron River watershed were thanks to the efforts of the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team that worked with local wastewater treatment plants. 

In July 2018, EGLE found PFAS levels of up to 1,400 parts per trillion in an area of the Huron River downstream from Norton Creek in Oakland County. As of August, the PFAS levels have dropped to a maximum detection of 6.1 parts per trillion. 

Officials believe that Norton Creek was a major source of the Huron River’s contamination. That creek’s PFAS levels declined by 99.8% from a maximum detection of 5,600 parts per trillion in 2018 to a maximum detection of 12.2 points per trillion in August…”