“It should make everyone take a breath and think,” said Sandy Wynn-Stelt, a Belmont psychologist who became a PFAS activist after discovering her water was contaminated with PFAS from a Wolverine WorldWide shoe tannery.

“In America, it’s like we think our water is safe. It obviously isn’t, and unfortunately the burden seems to be on ordinary citizens, not the people who manufactured and profited from the manufacture (PFAS).

Related:

The US Geological Survey studythat relied on predictive modeling to detect 24 of the thousands of PFAS compounds, was published Oct. 24 in the journal Science.

You can see your community’s risk level by viewing an interactive map of the study results.

The researchers concluded that between 71 and 95 million US residents may obtain their drinking water from aquifers containing detectable amounts of PFAS. That’s about half of all weed users in the country — a statistic that surprised even researchers.

“We would have expected a little less than that,” said Bruce Lindsey, a USGS project manager involved in the study.

In Michigan, the number is between 2.3 million and 3.2 million people, including up to 1.4 million private well users and 1.8 million public drinking water customers who rely on groundwater.

To generate these estimates, USGS scientists built a model that predicts whether a well will contain one of 24 types of PFAS based on a number of contributing factors:

Is it near a likely source of PFAS contamination, such as a military base, metal plate, plastics factory, airport, or paper mill? Is it located in an urban area? Does it touch a shallow aquifer that could easily be polluted when chemicals spill onto the ground?

“If you have shallow groundwater and you’re near an urban area and there are industries that use PFAS, then you’re at the very high end (of the vulnerability scale),” Lindsey said.

Known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down naturally in the environment, PFASs, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, can be found in products such as non-stick pans, fast food packaging, waterproof boots and fireproof sofas. spots PFAS Exposure has been linked to thyroid problems, developmental problems, hormonal and immune challenges, fertility problems and cancer.

I am 328 sites of known or suspected PFAS contamination in Michigan, with more added to the list almost weekly.

Importantly, the USGS study predicted the likelihood of PFAS in the aquifers themselves, not in the water that ultimately reaches residents’ taps. You may be at lower risk if you filter your tap water or if your municipal supplier treats your source water for PFAS.

Amid a crisis triggered by a number of high-profile PFASs contamination findings from Oscoda to Kent County, Michigan in 2020 began regulating PFAS in public drinking water supplies. But it wasn’t until this year that the US Environmental Protection Agency created craft regulations at national level.

Private wells are not subject to PFAS limits, nor are they routinely monitored for the chemicals.

Lindsey said she hopes the study will inspire people to test their water if they live in an area with a high likelihood of PFAS in their groundwater.

For information about test your watercontact the State Drinking Water Analysis Laboratory at 517-335-8184. PFAS testing through the state lab costs $290.