LANSING – The Department of Environmental Quality will be studying samples from the public water systems in the state looking for traces of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the department announced Friday.

The study is among the efforts of the PFAS Action Response Team to track and address the emerging contaminant.

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“Michigan has moved quickly to protect people from potentially unsafe drinking water in communities with known PFAS contamination from historical industrial or military activities,” DEQ Director Heidi Grether said in a statement. “MPART is taking this next proactive step to survey other parts of the state and gather important baseline data on the presence of this emerging contaminant in the environment.”

The $1.7 million study will include samples from the 1,380 public water systems as well as the 461 schools that have their own wells.

The study will be the first among the states to determine the extent of contamination from the chemical regularly used in fire extinguishing foam and other products, DEQ officials said. Michigan is also one of the few states to have set a cleanup standard for the chemicals.

This story was published by Gongwer News Service.