People who live near the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base got a fresh look Tuesday at where toxic chemicals leached into their groundwater.
The Air Force has been studying how best to clean up chemicals called PFAS that were in the firefighting foam used on the base in Oscoda.
PFAS are linked to certain types of cancer and other health problems, but organizers with a local environmental advocacy group called Need Our Water said many people who live near here have never actually seen where the chemicals were used.
The group set up a bus tour around the old air force base in advance of a screening of a documentary about PFAS pollution across the U.S.
Agnes Buccellato, who lives near the base, was on the tour. She said the area draws people who vacation on Lake Huron here but don’t think the pollution is their problem.
“They don’t realize how this affects this area. And they just say, ‘Oh, well, we’re going home.’ They don’t care. You’ve got to care,” Buccellato said.
She said seeing the contamination sites herself will help her better explain to visitors why the cleanup is important.