636 40th Street East (Holland, Allegan County)

Ray Spaulding, SpauldingR1@Michigan.gov or 517-290-2401.

This site is located at 636 40th Street East in Holland. It is an aerosol paint packaging facility with numerous above-ground storage tanks. In the past, the site filled spray cans with 3M Scotchgard and its fire suppression system was primed with Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF). The exact PFAS release location and the materials released is not known at this time. The property is currently regulated under Part 201, historically the site was regulated under Part 213 due to a release from removed and/or closed underground storage tanks.

PFAS was originally sampled for by the Holland Board of Public Works as part of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Industrial Pretreatment Program (IPP). The results of sampling a sump located on the south side of the building which discharges into the city of Holland's sanitary sewer identified Total Tested PFAS at a concentration of approximately 6,000 ppt. Because of this, EGLE met with Sherwin-Williams, the current owner, and asked that they undertake an investigation to determine the nature and extent of the contamination. An interim treatment system has been installed to treat the sanitary discharge as of December 2018.

Shallow, perched groundwater is present in the area; however; there is no information to indicate that surface water bodies have been impacted at this time. Groundwater generally flows to the northwest near the site; surface water flow is controlled by existing topography, roads, and storm water systems. As the area immediately adjacent to the facility is mostly commercial or industrial in nature, there are no other known sensitive receptors.

Investigation activities are being conducted by Sherwin-Williams, with oversight by EGLE and in collaboration with the Allegan County Health Department, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and the city of Holland. These entities have also kept the Ottawa County Health Department informed, although the known extent of the impacts has not crossed into Ottawa County.

Content posted September 2019

Sherwin-Williams has conducted a well survey within a 1-mile radius of the site and have been able to collect only 1 sample to date from identified downgradient wells. The city of Holland provides municipal water to the majority of businesses and residents in the surrounding area.

With oversight from EGLE, Sherwin-Williams will continue to conduct investigation activities, including sampling the utility corridor and installing additional permanent monitoring wells where temporary borings showed significant detections in the groundwater, to determine the nature and extent of the impacts at the site.