PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — On March, 14, 2023, the Biden Administration announced the first-ever national drinking water standard to protect the public from PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, which is found in many household items including cleaning products, cookware, water-resistant clothing and firefighting foam.
Tuesday, April 19, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced their latest effort in the fight against PFAS, releasing the findings of the Michigan PFAS Exposure and Health Study with the goal of learning how the chemical impacts people’s and communities health.
“When we found out that this contamination occurred and then Parchment found out maybe a year later, we had already started saying ‘When are you going to study us?’ said Sandy Wynn-Stelt during an interview with FOX 17 on Tuesday. “You know contamination is the kind of thing that you can’t ask for volunteers and say ‘Hey could I poison you and see what happens.’”
Wynn-Stelt is the co-chair of the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network. It’s an environmental advocacy group that she and few others in the state established after their drinking water became contaminated with the ‘forever chemical.’
“In my case I knew my blood levels were extraordinarily high, like probably one of the highest ever seen. That helped my doctor monitor for things and that was how they found that I had thyroid cancer,” she said. “It was only because of the blood work that was found. So, I’m hoping we can start making some connections with their blood work and disease patterns in our communities.”
She said so far over 1,000 people from the Rockford/Belmont area in Kent County and the Parchment/Cooper area in Kalamazoo County have participated in the study, having their blood tested for PFAS. Both areas were designated study sites after PFAS were found in their water systems a few years ago.
“So the purpose of MIPEHS or MiPES, which we often shorten it to, is to understand how community exposure to PFAS relates to certain health conditions in humans,” said Betsy Wasilevich, senior epidemiologist for the division of environmental health with MDHHS. “Understanding the relationship between PFAS exposure and health outcomes helps communities and government agencies to make better decisions that protect public health.”
MDHHS said Phase One began with a letter in the mail explaining to participants about what to expect for their appointment. It also guided them on questionnaire they have to take about the amount of water they consumed and any health conditions they’ve experienced. Then, they’re asked to go to the study office to have their blood drawn. There’s one office in each of the areas.
“So, along with the type of description of the blood PFAS levels that we see with these current summary report, our technical appendix that we have for phase one we’ll be looking at the relationship between the PFAS that could be in their body and health effects, and also some laboratory health tests, things like cholesterol,” said Jen Gray, senior toxicologist with the MDHHS.
MDHHS said they hope that the findings of study will inspire more people to join in. They’d like to have a larger participant pool because the bigger the pool the more accurate the results will be.
Wynn-Stelt said she too hopes that more people will join. She lost her husband to health complications stemming from PFAS and hopes that no one else suffers like they did.
“I’m hoping this just clarifies more that this is not something that we should be manufacturing and using,” Wynn-Stelt said. “It doesn’t go away. We can’t destroy it and we know it impacts health. So why are we using this?”
***The results of the study will be discussed this Thursday, April 20 at the Plainfield Township Office from 3 p.m.- 7 p.m.***
