MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – During their regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night, the Marquette County Board made significant progress in the cleanup of PFAS chemicals at the former site of the Marquette County Airport in Negaunee Township.
“Tonight was a step forward in selecting a contractor to be able to go forward with the PFAS investigation and remediation, and that is at the Negaunee Township site, so the Marquette County Airport, when it was formerly there,” explained Sawyer Regional Airport Manager, David Erhart.
After accepting a one million dollar grant from the State of Michigan (EGLE), the board unanimously voted to retain A-E-Com to continue their work on cleanup efforts at the old airport.
Recent groundwater testing of 30 residential wells in the area found PFAS present in 8 household wells. The one million dollar grant came with no mandatory call for local matching funds, with all of the grant money going toward the testing and remediation of PFAS at the old airport.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of man-made chemicals often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they break down extremely slowly in the environment. They have been widely used for decades in products such as aircraft firefighting foam, nonstick cookware, water-resistant fabrics, food packaging, and a variety of industrial processes. Research has linked long-term exposure to certain PFAS compounds with an increased risk of some cancers, elevated cholesterol, thyroid disease, reduced immune system response, and other potential health effects, although scientists continue to study the full extent of their impact on human health.
