Laboratories Offering Home Testing
PFAS MCLs and Drinking Water
Statewide Testing Initiative
PFAS Sites and Areas of Interest
There are two major classes of firefighting foam: Class A and Class B. Class B is also called Aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) and is usually created using PFAS. It is a highly effective foam used for fighting high-hazard flammable liquid fires, like gasoline, oil, and jet fuel.
Official Correspondence
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Please contact the Site Lead for the most up-to-date status of this site.
Lynn Gosson, GossonL1@Michigan.gov or 616-648-6937
Please note that this landfill is CLOSED and does not accept waste.
Misak Landfill, located at 1075 South Patterson Road, is a former landfill that was operated by Yankee Springs Township until it closed in 1972 because it could not meet the regulatory requirements. In 1974, the site was reopened under new ownership until 1983 when the landfill was officially closed.
Groundwater sampling results from several monitoring wells installed by the State in 1985 indicated that groundwater in the vicinity of the landfill was contaminated with metals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In early 1986 groundwater contamination was found in residential wells just south of the landfill; however, the landfill was not deemed the source of that contamination. In 1990, a municipal water supply was constructed to provide drinking water to area residents.
In 2019, the Yankee Springs Township sampled an irrigation well at Robbins Cemetery and two other remaining drinking water wells in the area which were not abandoned in 1990 when municipal water supply was constructed. One residential well was non-detect, the cemetery had detections below criteria, and the second residential well had PFOA of 21 ppt (compared to today's criteria of 8 ppt). In May 2021, Yankee Springs Township presented EGLE the PFAS sampling data and formally requested assistance from EGLE for further investigation.
In 2022, EGLE sampled existing monitoring wells for PFAS at site and found PFOA in several wells above criteria, the highest of which was 160 ppt. One well location also exceeded EGLE groundwater-surface water interface criteria for PFOS. In early 2023, EGLE sampled at two locations to better define the vertical extent of PFAS contamination near the former landfill. PFOA exceeded criteria in both locations. The highest result was 84 ppt PFOA. Groundwater flow is southerly and potentially impacts Gun Lake as well as two unnamed ponds between the former landfill and Gun Lake.
See an aerial view of the location of the site.
EGLE, DHHS, and local health have evaluated residential well logs and are working on a sampling plan to sample additional nearby residential wells.
Continued investigation is planned to further define and understand area groundwater contamination.