ANN ARBOR – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said it will conduct a preliminary examination of a large dioxane plume in and around Ann Arbor that has gotten in the surface water system to establish if it would qualify for federal Superfund status.
The Chicago office of the EPA notified local officials and the Sierra Club on Wednesday of its decision to conduct the assessment.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn), who represents the region in Congress, called the decision critical towards examining “all options to ensure this contamination is properly remediated and families and the environment are protected.”
Dingell said the announcement was not a “silver bullet” for the area but a major step in the efforts of local residents, officials and the state to get action on the contamination.
The plume stems from the use of 1,4-dioxane, a chemical used by a company called Gelman Sciences in the 1960s through the 1980s. The firm discharged the chemical into the environment, which was discovered years later as it spread. The plume is also the subject of legal action brought by residents affected by the contamination. Some of the court orders overseeing efforts to clean the site are as much as 25 years old.
The biggest fear of the spreading plume is that it could contaminate the primary drinking water source for Ann Arbor if it reaches a pond that is part of the Huron River.
There are some efforts underway now to pump out and treat the chemical.
Last October, the Department of Environmental Quality issued new emergency rules reducing the level of allowable contamination of dioxane in drinking water.
Rep. Yousef Rabhi (D-Ann Arbor) has also introduced HB 4123 allowing the DEQ to take action to clean up a site to allow for unrestricted residential use and restores water to state drinking water standards.
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