Solving the puzzles of PFAS
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are man-made chemicals used in firefighting foam, stain repellants, nonstick cookware, and many other products. PFAS don’t break down easily in the environment, and some PFAS can build up in our bodies and affect our health.
Seven state agencies including the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) make up the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART), which was formed in 2017 in response to a gubernatorial executive directive to coordinate responses to PFAS contamination. The goal of MPART is to protect public health by identifying sources of PFAS, address PFAS contamination at those sources, and work with local health departments to protect people in areas where groundwater is impacted by PFAS. At its foundation, MPART strives to be data-driven and transparent, and has a robust website referred to by people around the world. As of July 2026, MPART has identified 350 sites in Michigan where groundwater exceeds criteria for one or more PFAS.
In the year ahead, MPART will continue sampling drinking water wells near fire training centers and sites with PFAS in groundwater over criteria. MPART will also continue to implement a statewide educational campaign to encourage private drinking water well owners to sample for PFAS, use the Eat Safe Fish Guide, stay out of foam on surface waters and try to purchase consumer products that don’t contain PFAS. Additionally, MPART will administer grants to airports where firefighting foam has contaminated groundwater or surface waters. The grants will support testing, studying the best ways to address contamination, and cleaning out fire trucks to use newer firefighting foam. MPART agencies will also continue implementing the programs identified below.
Identifying sources of PFAS
EGLE has tested for PFAS at landfills, airports, industries, metal platers, wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), and other locations that received or used the substances. EGLE has also conducted routine monitoring of lakes and streams, finding elevated levels of PFAS that are then traced to sources. Identifying many of these locations has allowed EGLE, working through regulatory programs, to require source locations to use treatment technologies to remove PFAS from discharges to WWTPs, stormwater, and groundwater.
Protecting Michiganders’ wells
MPART coordinates across state agencies to investigate PFAS groundwater contamination. For every site where groundwater is found to be over PFAS criteria, a team composed of EGLE, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), and local health staff evaluate nearby drinking water wells that could be affected. EGLE collects any needed sampling, and MDHHS coordinates the health response, which includes education and possibly filters. MPART also proactively samples around likely sources of PFAS. To date, more than 7,000 drinking water wells have been sampled and residents protected from PFAS. EGLE has a list of certified PFAS laboratories offering test kits for private residential drinking water wells among other resources at Michigan.gov/PFASresponse.
PFAS in Michigan fish populations
From 2020 to 2024, EGLE collected 5,163 fish to test for PFAS and other contaminants of concern. These data help EGLE, MPART, and MDHHS understand, target, and eliminate PFAS exposures and also inform the state’s Eat Safe Fish Program. Most fish contain some concentration of the specific PFAS compound PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate), which, like some other forms of PFAS, bioaccumulates in living tissue over time. PFOS typically constitutes 75% of the total PFAS concentration in fish.
Eat Safe Fish Program
Michigan’s Eat Safe Fish Guides are based on levels of chemicals found in the portions of fish that people eat – typically the fillets – analyzed by MDHHS labs. A recent scientific review found PFOS a greater threat to health than previously thought. This resulted in changes to the 2025 Eat Safe Fish Guides. Additional guidelines are included now for some entire water bodies and specific fish species because of PFOS, including additional Do Not Eat guidelines. For more information, visit Michigan.gov/EatSafeFish and select Find Your Area, or call MDHHS’ Environmental Health division at 800-648-6942.
PFAS and dredging
Sediments can be a significant reservoir and potential long-term source of PFAS contamination in aquatic ecosystems. But many harbors and channels need to be dredged regularly, disturbing the sediments, to allow safe passage for ships and boats. MPART’s collaboration across agencies has streamlined a process to screen proposed sediment dredging permits for potential impacts from PFAS sites. EGLE and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have evaluated all 64 proposed Great Lakes dredging projects for the next three years for the possible need for PFAS testing of sediments and found 14 that may require PFAS testing as part of the permit. This process will ensure the necessary data is submitted to decide about placement of any dredged sediments containing PFAS.
Surface water intake testing
EGLE’s PFAS Surface Water Intake Monitoring (SWIM) program collects data on PFAS in surface waters often used as public water supplies. This effort has helped EGLE understand seasonal fluctuations in impacts and differences in impact between untreated and treated water. SWIM also provides participating public water suppliers with site-specific information on source water quality. Most Michigan surface water supplies have had no detectable levels of PFAS or values below regulatory thresholds. But with the ever-changing regulatory framework for PFAS and unpredictable weather patterns and climate affecting surface waters, it is important to continue evaluating source waters for PFAS and other contaminants.
Interim biosolids strategy
Biosolids are the solid organic material left over after sewage treatment, sometimes used as fertilizer. Lacking federal criteria for PFAS in biosolids, EGLE has implemented and updated an interim strategy to protect public health with thresholds for how biosolids may be applied to land (along with other requirements for WWTPs) based on concentrations of PFAS. EGLE identifies and controls industrial PFAS sources to WWTPs to decrease concentrations in biosolids and prohibits land application of industrially impacted biosolids. EGLE also investigates areas known to have received industrially impacted biosolids in the past – areas with PFOS concentrations 1,000-10,000 times greater than non-industrially impacted biosolids. For reports of sampling from land application sites, search “PFAS in biosolids” at Michigan.gov/EGLE.
Adapted from an article in the 2025 Michigan State of the Great Lakes Report by Abigail Hendershott and Amy Peterson, of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
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