WEST BLOOMFIELD BEACON • APRIL 5, 2023
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Photo by the Friends of the Rouge River
Another one of the six anglers, Jerrad Jankowski, refers to himself as a “fishing addict.”
PFAS stands for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which the Ecology Center describes as “a class of thousands of toxic chemicals widely used in manufacturing and consumer products.” PFAS is used to make products resistant to water, oil and stains. However, the danger of PFAS is that it does not break down in the environment, meaning that PFAS pollution in bodies of water leads to contamination of fish, which is especially dangerous for subsistence anglers who consume what they catch. PFAS chemicals are linked to certain types of cancers, reproductive issues and reduced vaccine effectiveness. Using a community-based science model, the project approached six anglers who went through a training session to learn how to properly package the fish they caught without contaminating the samples. The anglers took part in designing the research questions, collecting samples, processing the fish, and discussing the results and education strategies for fellow anglers. From April to June, the anglers were given a choice of 15 locations to fish around the Rouge River and Huron River. Over 100 fish of 12 different species — such as bluegill, pumpkinseed, rock bass and catfish — were tested for 40 different PFAS chemicals. The fish were put into a freezer and transported to Envirolab in Oscoda, Michigan, where they were blended together so that scientists could test the entire fish, rather than just the fillet, which was the
previous protocol used in 2018 when the Huron River was contaminated by a chrome plating facility that manufactures shiny coatings on car parts. The results were devastating. PFAS chemicals were found in every single fish tested from both rivers. Fourteen different types of PFAS chemicals were detected in the study, with each fish containing at least one of the 14 chemicals. Of these 14 chemicals, only two are regulated in Michigan. Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, or PFOS, is one of the few regulated PFAS chemicals widely found because it doesn’t break down. PFOS was found in 58% of the Huron fish and in 46% of the Rouge fish. The range of PFAS found in the whole fish was 11 to 59 parts per billion (nine fish) in the Rouge River and 12 to 133 parts per billion (11 fish) in the Huron River. The estimated highest filet concentrations were 47 ppb for the Huron and 12 ppb for the Rouge. Though these results yielded lower levels of PFAS in Huron River fish than in the 2018 testing, these levels are above what the state of Michigan advises, limiting consumption to two Huron and 12 Rouge meals per month. Currently, the state has issued a “Do Not Eat” advisory if PFOS is found at greater than 300 ppb in fish. “We got this survey started, and halfway through, the Health Department issued a ‘Do Not Eat’ advisory because we found some really high levels,” said Sally Petrella, the monitoring manager at Friends of the Rouge who worked closely on the study. “It really hit home for me that we had these anglers out here collecting fish to be tested, and we’re
