PETOSKEY, Mich. (AP) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will soon contact residents in northern Michigan who live near an underground chemical contamination site to get their homes checked for the presence of possible hazardous vapors.
EPA officials hosted two public information sessions Monday to provide information on the effort. The department is working with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Health Department of Northwest Michigan, the Petoskey News-Review (https://bit.ly/2pvjG0e ) reported.
Agency officials hope to gain access to homes in the area of the former Petoskey Manufacturing Co. site. Workers would be conducting sub-slab and indoor air testing to determine if potentially harmful gases may be moving up through the soil and into properties, a process known as “vapor intrusion.”
The type of gas the agency is looking for is trichloroethylene, or TCE, which officials said contaminated groundwater in the area from operations at the former manufacturing facility. The EPA said the company improperly disposed of solvents and paint sludge on the ground surface outside the company’s building, resulting in contaminated soil and groundwater near the site and near one of Petoskey’s municipal water wells.
According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, severe health effects from TCE exposure include congenital heart defects, immune system function effects, liver and kidney problems and development of some cancers.
Officials expect to begin testing on about 75 properties in the next several weeks. Depending on the results of the initial testing, the area could expand to include more homes. The current testing area extends to properties about 100 feet from the edge of the groundwater contamination plume.
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Information from: Petoskey News-Review, https://www.petoskeynews.com
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