TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Officials say samples taken at 64 water systems around Michigan last year had measurable levels of a class of long-lasting toxic chemicals.
The Department of Environmental Quality released findings Monday from a 2018 initiative to test Michigan's public water sources for the substances known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, or PFAS.
The compounds are used in a wide variety of consumer products including non-stick cookware and water-resistant fabrics.
The DEQ sampled 1,114 municipal water systems, along with hundreds of schools, child-care facilities and tribal systems.
Michigan requires cleanups if PFAS levels exceed 70 parts per trillion. The only systems that did so were the city of Parchment and Robinson Elementary School near Grand Haven.
An additional 62 systems had levels of 10 to 70 parts per trillion.
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