A lawsuit filed Tuesday by Attorney General Dana Nessel alleges PFAS manufacturers “intentionally hid” known health and environmental risks from the public and state in order to continue profiting off “forever chemicals.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer cites an environmental disaster in Oakland County to renew a push for “polluter pays” legislation that would require owners to clean – rather than contain – environmental contaminants used or produced on their property.
The state has proposed maximum contaminant limits for seven PFAS compounds in Michigan drinking water. Here’s what they are, and how you can weigh in on the limits.
Michigan lawmakers said ‘never again’ after an agricultural mishap sparked one of the worst poisonings in history in 1973. But serious reform never came and some mistakes of that crisis are being repeated with the PFAS threat befouling state waterways.
In the town of St. Louis, a group of rabble-rousers ensured state and federal authorities didn’t forget their toxic legacy. The work is only half done, but could be a lesson for communities now battling PFAS contamination.
When a chemical disaster strikes – as it did in the tiny town of St. Louis – bills mount far faster than polluters’ willingness to pay. It’s a lesson survivors of the crisis fear will repeat with PFAS, which Michigan already has spent tens of millions to address.
An ignored 2010 report about PFAS is just one of several bureaucratic hurdles that has slowed Michigan’s response to the chemical that is now befouling waters. The delays are reminiscent of those that prolonged the PBB contamination of livestock in the 1970s.
As he left office, the former attorney general told Rick Snyder he couldn’t sue because the governor’s staff never greenlighted a lawsuit — even though Snyder himself requested the suit.
This slideshow shows how a 1973 mixup at a chemical company in St. Louis sparked an agricultural and health disaster statewide that still affects residents. Warning: Some photos may be upsetting.
A Center for Michigan water conference Thursday took place within miles of a PFAS contamination site. Experts weighed in on key challenges the state faces to keeping water clean and safe.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week proposed limits for seven types of the harmful “forever chemicals” that have been found in drinking water supplies. Just four other states have adopted similar regulations.
Joining fellow Democratic governors in Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Michigan’s governor urges presidential hopefuls to protect the Great Lakes by backing proposals that would improve water quality and thwart invasive species.
‘Welcome to the rodeo’: Bridge Magazine gets first-hand look at Michigan regulators’ efforts to learn more about toxins in ‘forever chemicals’ by killing and testing fish.
In Kent County, the state hopes blood tests of PFAS contaminated households could inform health decisions. But only half of eligible residents seem willing, casting into doubt Michigan’s role in a larger, federal study.
Once strangers who sought privacy and quiet, PFAS has forced unexpected alliances in northern Kent County. This week, one group took their stories to Boston, fueled by a love of community.
Emails uncovered by FOIA show a Lansing lobbyist for Wolverine Worldwide wrote a law to weaken pollution cleanup standards, months after negotiating a lawsuit settlement with a company accused of contaminating West Michigan.
