The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on March 12 that the Gelman Sciences Inc. site in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was being added to the Superfund National Priorities List. The notice was published in the Federal Register on March 13.
The announcement indicates that:
“From 1963-1986, Gelman Sciences Inc. manufactured medical filters, a process that discharged wastewater containing 1,4-dioxane into surrounding ponds creating a contaminated groundwater plume. Health risks of 1,4-dioxane include liver and kidney damage and cancer. The 1,4-dioxane groundwater plume is approximately 3 miles long and 1 mile wide and has migrated into aquifers that supply drinking water.
"Currently, the company has an agreement with the state requiring them to pump and treat contaminated groundwater to lower the concentration of 1,4-dioxane within the plume, prevent groundwater use in contaminated areas, prevent well use within the plume, and connect affected properties to municipal water. This agreement does not require Gelman to restore the groundwater to beneficial use and allows the plume to migrate toward, and discharge to, the Huron River in compliance with the state’s groundwater to surface water interface criterion.
"With this NPL listing, the EPA can take action to more effectively control the plume to reduce eastern migration and further degradation of the Ann Arbor aquifer and ensure uncontaminated portions of the aquifer can be used for future commercial and/or residential use.”
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