GRAWN — State officials confirmed a chemical contamination site near a local school and its drinking water supply.
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality personnel confirmed a four-acre contamination site containing the chemicals perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl — or PFAS — 900 feet west of Blair Elementary School, according to a Grand Traverse County Health Department press release issued Thursday.
Carl’s Retreading, a scrap tire collection and recycling site, once operated there.
A 1995 tire fire sparked in a tire shredding machine and burned for weeks.
Officials used “aqueous film forming foam,” which contains PFAS, in attempts to douse the flames, the press release states.
State sampling efforts completed in May confirmed PFAS in the site’s groundwater, according to the press release.
Personnel from the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team and the county health department’s environmental health division continue working to identify drinking water wells that could be impacted, including Blair Elementary School’s water supply.
Personnel completed drinking water sampling at Blair Elementary School and another nearby residence July 16.
Results could be returned next week, according to the press release.
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