PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Years after PFAS were first detected in ground water surrounding the former tannery of Wolverine Worldwide, the state has released a new report looking at the health impacts of the "forever" chemicals.
The report is the second on the North Kent County Exposure Assessment by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The aim is to find the mean concentration of PFAS in people in the impacted area, and compare it to the national average. 30 different kinds of PFAS were tested for in the study.
According to the results, 100% of people in the study had PFAS detected in their blood. The numbers also show that the concentration of PFAS were "significantly higher" than the results in a nationwide study.
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For the first time researchers included children ages 3 to 11. The first report only addressed people ages 12 and older.
The numbers for the younger children fared no better than the rest. All of the kids had detectable levels of PFAS in their blood and the level of the chemicals was generally higher than their peers across the U.S.
RELATED: PFAS levels in young boy were 50 times the national average
To be included, participants had to live in the area affected by the PFAS contaimination by the former Wolverine facility and have well water that tested positive for PFAS prior to September 1, 2018. 183 households with 413 people were part of the study.
Drinking water in the homes was also tested both before and after filter systems. At least 90% of unfiltered water tested positive for one or more kind of PFAS. Once the water went through a filter, the PFAS detection dropped significantly. Roughly 11% of homes had PFAS detected in filtered drinking water.
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The study established that the increased levels of PFAS in drinking water corresponded with increased levels of PFAS in people. However many participants in the study had higher levels of PFAS in their blood than expected based on the chemical's levels in the drinking water.
Researchers noted that the length of exposure, how long a person lived in the home and been drinking contaminated water, did not correspond with the PFAS level in their blood.
RELATED: Kent County has biggest PFAS problem in the state
The study's conclusion says the biggest factors for high levels for PFAS include daily consumption of PFAS contaminated water or food and a person age: the older a person was, the greater likelihood they would have PFAS detected in their blood. Men were also more likely to have high concentration of PFAS than women.
Read the full report below
North Kent Co PFAS Exposure Assessment Second Report by WXMI on Scribd
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