The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing adding a site in and near Ann Arbor to the Superfund National Priorities List.
The Gelman plume is pollution slowly moving through groundwater. It’s threatening one of the sources of Ann Arbor’s water supply. It’s already polluted private wells closer to the former Gelman Sciences site.
The plume is primarily 1,4-dioxane, an industrial solvent. At high levels, it can damage the liver and kidneys and can cause death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Low levels of the chemical might be affecting nearly 8,000 people within a four mile radius of the Gelman site just west of Ann Arbor.
The EPA proposal to add it to the Superfund list must include a 60-day public comment period. You can leave your comment here beginning March 7.
The effort to get Superfund status for the site has spanned nearly 30 years.
The Gelman site is one of three Superfund designations being proposed across the nation with another in California and the third is the Upper Columbia River in Washington.
The EPA also just added five sites to the National Priorities List, including the Acme Steel Coke Plant in Chicago, and sites in Pennsylvania, Iowa, Louisiana, and a site owned by the Navajo Nation.
