KENTWOOD, Mich. — Another location in Kent County has been identified for PFAS contamination.
The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team now says a Lack Enterprise facility at Barden Drive and East Paris Avenue is the source of a recently discovered PFAS contamination in storm water runoff.
State investigators say the "forever" chemicals leached into the soil because of a faulty sump pump. From the soil, the PFAS were picked up by water runoff through a broken pipe that carries storm water.
That water runs south and west to a tributary of Plaster Creek.
The PFAS contamination was found during water testing in 2021 and 2022, but the source of the chemicals wasn't located until October 2022.
The water tested at 784 parts per trillion, hundreds of times above the state's testing limit of 12 parts per trillion.
Along with PFAS, testing found elevated levels of copper in the water.
Ground sample testing identified chloride, sulfide, copper, selenium, and PFAS.
In December 2022, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) sent a letter to Lacks Enterprises with a violation of outfall discharge permit notice. The company is complying with continued testing, with samples pulled in July 2023.
The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team expects to continue collecting samples throughout 2024.
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