The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on June 12 that the Gelman Sciences Inc. site in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been added to the Superfund National Priorities List, which identifies the nation's most contaminated sites.
"With this Superfund designation, EPA will use its statutory authorities to hold the company responsible for near- and long-term actions to more expeditiously address possible risks to human health and the environment," said EPA Regional Administrator Anne Vogel. "Thanks to Administrator Lee Zeldin’s leadership, EPA is making good on its promise to the community to protect drinking water sources and ensure clean drinking water to families living in and near the community."
Gelman Sciences Inc. manufactured medical filters at the site from 1963 through 1986. The manufacturing process discharged wastewater containing 1,4-dioxane into nearby ponds, resulting in a contaminated groundwater plume approximately three miles long and one mile wide. This plume has migrated into aquifers that supply drinking water. Health risks associated with 1,4-dioxane include liver and kidney damage as well as cancer.
Currently, Gelman Sciences operates under an agreement with the state of Michigan requiring it to pump and treat contaminated groundwater in order to lower concentrations of 1,4-dioxane within the plume. The agreement also prevents groundwater use in contaminated areas and connects affected properties to municipal water supplies but does not require restoration of groundwater for beneficial use or prevent migration toward the Huron River.
There is no known current human exposure; however, some private wells have exceeded safety levels for 1,4-dioxane, leading residents to abandon those wells and connect their homes to municipal water lines. In 2001, Ann Arbor closed its Montgomery Wellfield due to contamination by 1,4-dioxane.
The state requested EPA add the site in 2021 following years of assessment. After a public comment period earlier this year with mostly supportive feedback from community members, EPA finalized its decision according to the official roster page.
