© 2024 WEMU
Serving Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, MI
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Ann Arbor 1,4 dioxane plume spreading to Scio Township water

This map produced by the Environmental Health Division of the Washtenaw County Department of Public Health shows the latest estimation of the footprint of the Pall-Gelman 1,4-dioxane plume. Local officials say the contamination is spreading through a system of underground streams, contaminating the groundwater in those areas.
Washtenaw County Health Department
/
washtenaw.org
This map produced by the Environmental Health Division of the Washtenaw County Department of Public Health shows the latest estimation of the footprint of the Pall-Gelman 1,4-dioxane plume. Local officials say the contamination is spreading through a system of underground streams, contaminating the groundwater in those areas.

Another round of groundwater testing has found small amounts of 1,4 dioxane at 10 additional residential wells in Scio Township.

All ten wells were located between M-14 and the Huron River and contained amounts of the chemical below the state’s drinking water standard. The harmful chemical has been slowly spreading out in a large plume from the site of the old Gelman Sciences facility off of Wagner Road for decades, despite an ongoing clean-up effort.

Scio Township Supervisor Will Hathawaysays these findings show this is an ongoing problem.

“This isn’t just some sort of issue that was discovered back in the 1980s and is sort of static. The groundwater contamination is spreading in ways that were not known before this test.”

Hathaway says this also highlights the need for more thorough groundwater testing throughout the area.

Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support.  Make your donation to WEMU todayto keep your community NPR station thriving.

Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org

Taylor Pinson is a former WEMU news reporter and engineer.
Taylor Pinson is a former WEMU news reporter and engineer.
Related Content