The state found two private drinking wells in Battle Creek with high levels of PFAS.
The Department of Environmental Quality tested wells near the Air National Guard base in Battle Creek. The state was already aware that firefighting foam containing PFAS was used on the base for decades.
PFAS have been linked to several health issues, including testicular and kidney cancer.
Scott Dean, communications director with the DEQ, says the department will continue testing.
“We’ll do some testing of some wells, you know, in sort of that one mile perimeter around the base,” Dean said.
So far the department has results from 29 of the 61 samples collected, but only two of the wells tested were above the EPA advisory of 70 parts per trillion.
“We did find another 11 positive results within that number, but they were under the 70 parts-per-trillion criteria,” he said.
The Air National Guard will hold a public meeting to discuss the contamination at the end of this month in Battle Creek.
