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Fish in Huron River have high levels of PFAS chemicals, study shows

The Huron River at North Territorial Road, Hudson Mills Metropark
Huron River Watershed Council
/
hrwc.org
The Huron River at North Territorial Road, Hudson Mills Metropark

High levels of PFAS, or forever chemicals, have been found in fish in the Huron River. This is the result of a study led by the Ecology Center.

PFAS are a group of chemicals known for the long time they take to break down. Some have been linked to certain cancers. They are used in a wide variety of household items like pans and cleaning products.

Erica Bloom is the toxic campaign director at the Ecology Center. She said by testing 60 fish, the goal was to determine the broader ecological impact of PFAS in our watersheds.

“We found PFAS in every fish that we tested, at varying levels. So, 14 different PFAS chemicals were detected in the study, and each fish tested had at least one of those 14 chemicals.”

Bloom says there is extensive evidence that PFAS chemicals have harmful effects on people and the environment. She believes the economic impacts of getting rid of household items with PFAS is far less than the negative health impacts.

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Josh Hakala is the general assignment reporter for the WEMU news department.
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