Michigan gets $ 4 million to find out how much PFAS is in your blood

Michigan is surrounded by water. It has an industrial heritage. And its contamination documented by the PFAS is related to both.

However, measuring chemical risks leaves a big question unanswered: How much PFAS remains in the blood of the average Michigan resident?

A $ 4 million federal grant will help the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services address this problem.

It is a two-step effort that will span five years.

The first initiative, called the Michigan Chemical Exposure Monitoring Program (MiChEM), will report PFAS concentrations in human blood, or per-polyfluoroalkyl substances, among residents of the state. . This will be done through biomonitoring, described by the state as being the measurement of the chemicals present in the tissues or liquids of the body, such as blood or urine, so to determine the amount of chemical substance actually introduced into the body.

The tests will also detect some other chemicals, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), some pesticides and heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury and lead.

"We simply do not understand what is the exposure of the general population in the state of Michigan," said Matt Geiger, director of the chemistry and toxicology division of the MDHHS Public Health Lab, one of the leading researchers of the grant awarded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Michigan adults may be exposed to chemicals in the environment in different ways than the rest of the US population."

A second part of the grant will be used for more targeted tests: Checking the amount of PFAS in the firefighters' blood.

This effort is important for first responders, said Mark Docherty, president of the Michigan Professional Fire Fighters Union. The union is monitoring efforts to make PFAS a class of chemicals and also calls for the banning of chemicals contained in fire-fighting foams and protective clothing.

"The PFAS has been in foam and our equipment for years and years," he said. "Banning it could remove the protective properties of our equipment. So we want to know if the SPAF are harming us or not. "

The International Firefighters Union is also studying the issue, Docherty added.

Michigan's place in the Great Lakes makes it vulnerable to contamination. According to the MDHHS proposal submitted to the CDC in April, the reasons given are as follows:

• Michigan is bordered by four Great Lakes, controls 38,575 square miles of Great Lakes waters and contains over 60% of the total Great Lakes shoreline in the United States.
• The state has more than 36,000 miles of rivers and streams and more than 11,000 inland lakes.
• The strong industrialization leaves historical chemical contamination in the state, including the 65 Superfund sites.
• More than a million Michigan residents fish and consume local fish that may be contaminated.
• Michigan has 1.25 million private wells serving 2.6 million people. They are not covered by the Safe Drinking Water Act.

All contaminants that will be investigated with the new grant have been found in this state, and targeted biological monitoring has taken place. This includes PCB tests carried out over time near St. Louis, where a mixture of chemicals in 1974 resulted in state-wide consumption of the chemical in the milk. In North Kent County, health officials are conducting PFAS tests on residents to determine exposure after drinking water contaminated by industrial waste by Wolverine World Wide has been installed on a site. estimated area of ​​25 square miles.

And in Parchment, the city's drinking water system was shut down in 2018 after the discovery of municipal wells containing PFAS concentrations 10 times higher than the federal government's lifetime limit.

"In the past, MDHHS has only assessed exposure to chemicals to select analytes among small populations of concern," according to the proposal. This forces the state to turn to national estimates.

However, he adds, "(national) biomonitoring data is not enough to evaluate Michigan's specific exposures, given its industrial history and the potential for unique sources of exposure."

Finally, the data collected in the new biomonitoring study will be used to evaluate and reduce exposures, said Lynn Sutfin, MDHHS spokesperson. The results could also guide future national policies and initiatives.

PFAS contamination continues to be uncovered in Michigan as US investigators focus on testing pathways for human consumption and the environment: Drinking Water Industrial Releases. Landfill leachate. Fire-fighting foam, known as AFFF. Fish from contaminated lakes and rivers.

State and local governments have spent millions of dollars on efforts, with officials also taking new regulatory measures. Soon, the state will likely approve a maximum concentration of PFAS in drinking water that can include seven types of chemicals, including PFOA, PFOS and GenX.

At the same time, the national focus on chemicals continues to grow, fueled in part by the number of active and closed military facilities that are sources of contamination in the community. The total responsibility of the Ministry of Defense is not funded. On the other hand, states and individuals plead against chemical companies such as 3M and Dupont, resulting in high regulations.

PFOA and PFOS are no longer used, but remain in the environment and enter drinking water supplies. Called "chemicals forever," they have been linked to cancer, developmental delays, and other adverse health effects.

While many people in Michigan drink water that has been tested for PFAS and know it is safe, firefighters continue to work with chemicals. This is just one type of carcinogen they need to worry about.

"We have a lot of cancer," Docherty said. "There is a risk / benefit ratio for us."

According to the MDHHS proposal, firefighters are "a subpopulation for which there is evidence of occupational exposure to PFAS above the national average".

Studying chemical levels in the firefighters' blood will "give them a better idea of ​​what they were exposed to," Geiger said.

Previous biomonitoring work conducted in Michigan by the MDHHS Public Health Laboratory also includes a 2003 survey on dioxin exposure in the Tittabawassee flood plain; several projects since the 1970s on monitoring chemicals in Great Lakes fish consumers.

CDC grants are awarded every five years. This year's cycle attracted 17 candidates and five other states received grants: Iowa, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York. Among them, New York and New Jersey will also collect PFAS data at the state level.