More water woes in Michigan: High levels of lead found in drinking water wells near dump site

More water woes in Michigan: High levels of lead found in drinking water wells near dump site

Sunday, July 01, 2018 by: Rhonda Johansson

Tags: badhealth, badpollution, Ecology, environment, Heavy metals, industrial pollution, Lead contamination, Michigan, toxic elements, toxic water, urbanization, water pollution, Water Testing, Wolverine World Wide

1,990
Views

(Natural News) [Editor’s note: Several elements of this story are currently disputed by one or more of the parties involved. We are investigating and anticipate posting an update, correction or clarification to this story.]
The public outrage against the Wolverine World Wide tannery has reached critical levels, with another set of Kent County, Michigan homeowners claiming that their drinking water wells have critical levels of lead. Jennifer and Lucas Carney who live on the 7500 block of Chandler Drive NE said that their well tested at 73 parts per billion (ppb) for lead. The heavy metal is a known neurotoxin that can trigger potentially debilitating conditions in both adults and children.
The Carneys’ testimony adds to the already growing number of people who say that the tannery has polluted scores of groundwater wells in the Plainfield and Algoma townships. Wolverine World Wide used to make waterproof shoes at its former Rockford tannery. However, the sludge after-product of their processes was allegedly dumped into the Rogue River which contaminated the entire Algoma township.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was alerted to the claim by several concerned citizens and issued an administrative order for the company to conduct cleanup work at its former tannery. The EPA order further required Wolverine to ensure that soil and river sediments were free of or contained only acceptable amounts of hazardous substances such as arsenic, chromium, mercury, and ammonia.
Supposedly, Wolverine complied with these instructions and declared the “critical” areas to be safe of lead-contaminated water.
Support our mission to keep you informed: Discover the extraordinary benefits of turmeric gummy bears and organic "turmeric gold" liquid extract, both laboratory tested for heavy metals, microbiology and safety. Naturally high in potent curcuminoids. Delicious formulations. All purchases support this website (as well as your good health). See availability here.

The Carneys disagree, stating that not only was their well tainted with lead, it was also tested for copper and was found to have dangerous levels of the metal as well. The test was done at the wellhead and the couple insist that they followed the instructions set by the county’s construction records to ensure that their sample was taken and analyzed correctly.
The Varnum Law firm has taken on the case of the Carneys, along with another family living in the same area who say that their property well was tested to have high levels of lead. Both families have issued a strongly worded letter to the Kent County Health Department, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and the EPA to have their concerns addressed immediately. According to Varnum, no additional testing was ever made after the initial EPA response.
Spokespeople from Wolverine have denied that they are not taking the locals’ health seriously.
“Based on the information currently available, Wolverine does not believe the House Street site is the source of these [contaminations] or any other lead detections in the … area,” their official response states.
To further prove their claim, Wolverine representatives tested various homes near the tannery and said that heavy metal levels were “all well below the state action level.” This was likewise supported by another investigation by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) of the state of Michigan.
“Michigan DEQ proactively tested 35 homes for 10 metals and volatile organic compounds last summer (2017) and found that none of the results exceeded residential clean up criteria,” the department said.
The Carneys still did not believe these reports and decided to buy a $26 lead test kit to examine the sediments near the Rogue River. The couple was shocked to find that the samples collected at the House Street dump were at 3 ppb. The Carneys now wonder whether lead levels could fluctuate.
All the same, the couple believe that the lead levels in their water well was what contributed to the various neurological problems the family is experiencing. The matriarch says she’s been having periodic blurry visions, spotty peripheral vision, and continuous headaches ever since news of the supposed Wolverine contamination occurred. Their daughter as well has repeatedly complained of numbness in her feet.
The Carneys say that regardless of the results, people need to be aware of the dangers of heavy metals in their drinking systems.
Sources include:
MLive.com 1
MLive.com 2
BridgeMI.com
EPA.gov