US Congressman Dan Kildee is responding to news of high-level chemical contamination at a former Flint factory.
The congressman sent a letter sent to state health and environmental officials calling for a quick cleanup at the former Buick City site.
The site tested positive for perfluoroalkyl substances at levels more than 200 times higher than the federal health advisory limit for drinking water. PFAs are a family of chemicals that have been linked to cancer and other health problems in humans.
Kildee called for more testing.
“The first step is further testing but we need that to move quickly. They need to put in additional test wells to determine whether or not any of the PFAs on the site has migrated into the river.”
Kildee said the contamination poses a risk to public health and to the economic future of Flint.
“It’s the largest brownfield development site within hundreds of miles. We need to have this site prepared and ready for development and we can’t do that if we have PFAs on the site.
Officials responsible for the site say they are currently testing to see if PFAs are leaking into the Flint River.
Those results are expected to be released sometime this month.