The Environmental Working Group’s map of PFAS sites in Michigan and surrounding areas | Environmental Working Group
The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) last week announced that the groundwater near a former Wayne County Landfill remained contaminated by PFAS, marking 300 sites within the state contaminated by “forever chemicals.”
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS, are a family of chemicals that are resistant to heat and oil, and have been widely used in products like nonstick cookware, carpeting, waterproof clothing and food packaging.
The chemicals break down very slowly and can build up in the blood and organs of people and animals over time. Alongside the products and facilities that use the chemicals, PFAS can be found in food, drinking water and in soil and water at or near waste sites.
PFAS has been labeled an emerging contaminant by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and has been linked to decreased fertility, high blood pressure in pregnant women, developmental delays or effects on children, increased risks of certain cancers — including prostate kidney and testicular cancers — alongside harm to the immune system, reducing the body’s ability to fight infections and reducing its response to vaccines.
As part of an ongoing review of landfills that previously received industrial waste from PFAS manufacturers, MPART determined that Nankin Township Landfill received waste from 3M and other companies while it was operating from the 1940s until the early 1960s.
While the Environmental Protection Agency removed 350 waste drums and 5,000 cubic yards of industrial waste from the site between 1994 and 1995, MPART installed monitoring wells in September 2024, as investigators suspected PFAS remained in the groundwater. The compound was present in both ground and surface waters near the former landfill with the highest groundwater concentrations recorded at 80 parts per trillion for PFOA, a type of PFAS, and 25 ppt PFOS, another type of PFAS. Both measures exceed the state’s standards for cleanup.
MPART staff and local health officials later determined there are no private wells near the contaminated site and nearby residences received their water from municipal water sources.
“Given the fact that these persistent PFAS compounds have been manufactured for decades, it’s not surprising that MPART has found contamination in this closed landfill even though some clean-up was done decades ago,” MPART’s executive director Abigail Hendershott said in a statement on Thursday. “This is why MPART is continuing to identify and hold accountable those responsible for this legacy contamination. Michigan continues to lead the nation in identifying PFAS contamination and protecting public health.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel applauded the response team’s efforts to identify sites of PFAS contamination, while emphasizing her commitment to holding polluters accountable.
In November 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments in Nessel’s appeal of a decision from the state Court of Appeals, which invalidated rules put in place by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to limit PFAS in drinking water following a challenge from 3M.
The court has yet to rule on the matter.
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