The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced the Gelman Sciences Inc. site in Ann Arbor would be added to the Superfund National Priorities List.
Between 1963 and 1986 Gelman Sciences manufactured medical filters, discharging wastewater containing 1,4 dioxane, an industrial solvent, into surrounding ponds, creating a groundwater plume. The plume is approximately three miles long and one mile wide, and has migrated into aquifers that supply drinking water.
“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,” EPA Regional Administrator Anne Vogel said in a statement.
Gelman Sciences Inc. dioxane plume area | Washtenaw County Health Dept. map
Dioxane carries several health risks including liver and kidney damage and cancer. According to the EPA, Gelman has an agreement with the state requiring them to pump and treat contaminated groundwater to lower the concentration of dioxane within the plume, prevent groundwater use in the contaminated area and well use within the plume and to connect properties affected to the municipal water system.
However, Gelman’s agreement does not require them to restore the groundwater, allowing the plume to migrate and discharge into the Huron River.
By adding the site to the Superfund National Priorities List, the EPA says it can more effectively control the plume, reducing its migration to the east, preventing further degradation of the Ann Arbor aquifer and ensuring uncontaminated portions of the aquifer can be used for future commercial or residential use.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) told Michigan Advance the Gelman plume’s inclusion as a Superfund site is a big deal.
“They delisted other sites, and everybody told us this could never happen,” Dingell said, with Republican President Donald Trump’s administration in control of the EPA.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) reflects on her late husband, former U.S. Rep. John Dingell’s efforts to pass the Clean Water Act. | Kyle Davidson
However, this designation wouldn’t have been possible without EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin – a former Republican member of the U.S. House – and Regional Administrator Vogel, Dingell said.
“I called him. He paid attention, he saw the urgency,” Dingell said, emphasizing that when people get together from across the aisle to study the facts, they can get something done.
The state asked the EPA to include the Gelman site on the National Priorities List in 2021, with the EPA issuing a proposal to add it to the list in March 2024.
The Superfund site list collects the nation’s most contaminated sites. The sites included are eligible for federal funding for long-term, permanent cleanup.
