Read the full article from Garrett Ellison (MLive)
“The U.S. Air Force plans to install a pollution cleanup system at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in order to stem PFAS chemicals from entering a lake where they’re creating toxic blobs of foam on the beach.
On Tuesday, the Air Force opened a public review period that ends Sept. 3 to take comment on plans to stop contaminated groundwater from entering Van Etten Lake underneath Ken Ratliff Memorial Park across from the former base.
The plan involves drilling a line of groundwater extraction wells across the plume and pumping polluted water to a nearby treatment system that will use either granular activated carbon (GAC) or ion exchange resin to remove the PFAS chemicals.
The proposed remedy — an interim measure happening well ahead of any comprehensive cleanup at the base — has long been sought by activists who are highly frustrated by the glacial pace of remedial investigation and cleanup.
Toxic surfactant foam caused by PFAS in the water has been a regular problem around the lake, but particularly at Ratliff Park, a local beach with a playground that draws children.”…