News, Culture and NPR for Central & Northern Michigan
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
91.7FM Alpena and WCML-TV Channel 6 Alpena are off the air. Click here to learn more.

PFAS Detected in Gaylord's Water

Flickr User: Scotb211
/
https://flic.kr/p/VY4QQR

PFAS chemicals have been found in Gaylord’s municipal drinking water.

PFAS compounds are often found in fire fighting foam, they were detected at one testing site in Gaylord’s municipal water.

High exposure to PFAS has been linked to health problems like cancer.

But the amount of chemicals found at one site in Gaylord is only a fraction of what is considered unsafe by the EPA.

The EPA says anything under 70 parts per trillion is safe, 2 parts per trillion were detected in Gaylord.

City Manager Joseph Duff says the city does not need to take any steps to get rid of this low level of contamination.

He stated, “We’re well below the thresholds. So we feel our water is very safe to drink.”

Duff says they recently put up a notice to the public on their website.

Environmental officials are currently testing water for PFAS statewide, in municipalities and schools.

In northern Michigan PFAS have been detected around Camp Grayling and low levels of the chemicals were also found in Blair Township in Grand Traverse County.