Michigan will move forward with some of the strictest contamination levels for PFAs chemicals in the country.
PFAs, or perfluoroalkyl substances, are a family of chemicals found across the state and linked to health problems including cancer.
At a meeting of the Michigan PFAs Action Response Team last week officials decided to move forward with rules for seven PFAs.
Scott Dean is with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
“Michigan is not taking a wait and see approach regarding PFAs,” he said. “We are going to be one of the leading states in terms of regulating so many of these contaminants so quickly.”
Anna Reade is a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council and spoke at the meeting. She asked the state why they were only developing rules for seven PFAs rather than addressing the entire family of chemicals.
“The continued focus on one individual PFAs at a time really puts us at a risk of undervaluing or underestimating the real effects that are occuring,” she said.
Reade called on the state to create a maximum contaminant level for all PFAs.
“Your own data shows that many people are being exposed to a mixture of PFAs and not just chemical at a time,” she said. “We also know that there are overlapping health effects that are associated with these PFAs.”
In response to calls for a maximum contaminant level for PFAs as a class Scott Dean, with the state, said Michigan will “adjust accordingly” as it learns more about PFAs contaminants.
He estimated the number of PFAs between four-and-five-thousand.
Dean said the draft rules will need to move through the Administrative Rule Process but could be adopted as early as April.