Environmental Industry Updates
The Latest News on Scientific and Regulatory Updates from Merit Laboratories
Residents can now track the locations of PFAS sites in Michigan, which continues to grow. According to the most recent update to the PFAS Map Tracker from the Michigan EGLE (formerly MDEQ), the number of confirmed PFAS contaminated sites has grown to 52. The PFAS site map shows sites spread across Michigan.
The MDEQ has been directed by the governor to begin the process of creating PFAS drinking water standards. The MDEQ will file a Request for Rulemaking to establish maximum contaminant levels (MCLs). As part of the governor’s direction, the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) will form a science advisory workgroup to review health-based drinking water standards to support the rulemaking process and make recommendations by July 1.
The State of Michigan is developing a readiness and response plan to coordinate quick response when PFAS contamination is identified. The plan is the result of an executive directive issued by the governor on October 2. Communities across Michigan are dealing with PFAS contamination issues that require expedited response to the health threats presented by PFAS compounds.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) is deploying drones to fly over Lake Margrethe to search for cold water springs that could be carrying PFAS contamination into the lake near Camp Grayling. The MDEQ believes this is the first-ever usage of drones to search for PFAS contamination.
Because of Michigan’s complex geology, the groundwater-surface water interface (GSI) plays an important role in the state’s environmental cleanup program. Last month, we shared with you information about recent updates made by the MDEQ to the Generic Cleanup Criteria Tables. But what exactly is a GSI Pathway and how is GSI Pathway relevancy determined?
Merit Laboratories’ band of chemists are taking the show on the road for two simultaneous Michigan environmental events on June 12th and 13th: the 2018 Michigan Environmental Compliance Conference (MECC) in Lansing and the 8th Annual AIPG Michigan Section Technical Workshop on Higgins Lake in Roscommon.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has announced that it will be hosting workshops on the Volatilization to Indoor Air Pathway (VIAP) to provide guidance and training on Vapor Intrusion (VI). The MDEQ will be conducting four workshops throughout the state. The workshops will provide information on the concepts and fundamentals of VIAP, steps associated with investigations, collection and use of evidence, information on the USDA soil classification system, mitigation strategies, and VI sampling methodology and supplies.
