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A staff member from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will present a seminar on the Michigan PFAS (P-Faws) Action Response Team.
Michigan Tech’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is sponsoring the guest lecture by the DEQ’s Ian Smith at noon on Wednesday in the M&M building U113.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as PFCs are a suite of chemicals historically used in thousands of applications throughout the industrial, food, and textile industries.
They are used in fire suppression foams, fire retardants and water repellent formulas for consumer products.
PFAS compounds have been classified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as an emerging contaminant on the national level.
These poisons have been found polluting aquifers, lakes and streams downstate and a few in the UP, among them the former KI Sawyer Air Force Base in Marquette County.
Launched in 2017, the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team is the first multi-agency action team of its kind in the nation.
Agencies representing heath, environment and other branches of state government joined together to investigate sources and locations of PFAS contamination in the state, to take action to protect people’s drinking water, and to keep the public informed as we learn more about this emerging contaminant.
Wednesday’s presentation will discuss the DEQ’s approach and offer an opportunity to ask questions.
