MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is tracking what chemicals Michiganders are exposed to — and how those exposures may affect their health.
Through its MICHEM program, MDHHS is collecting data on chemicals like lead, mercury, and PFAS found in blood and urine.
Projects focus on our exposures, our environment, and our health — using biomonitoring, exposure assessments, and health studies to guide future public health policies.
By tracking exposure trends over time, MDHHS hopes to reduce harmful chemical contact across the state.
“We tested 60 areas, and then for this current cycle that we’re in now, which is the second grant that we received from CDC to support our efforts, we will recruit from 50 areas in 2025 and 2026. We’d like to get like baseline measurements of chemical exposures in Michigan that we can compare to and that MDHHS and other agencies can use,” said Bryce Spiker of The MDHHS.
MICHEM will begin sampling Dickinson County residents in August.
