School Gets Bottled Water Amid Tests for Hazardous Chemicals
ROCKFORD, Mich. (AP) — Officials are shutting off drinking fountains and providing bottled water at a middle school in western Michigan as they test water for possible hazardous chemicals from a decades-old tannery waste dump site nearby.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality announced precautionary measures Thursday at East Rockford Middle School. The agency says there’s no evidence of contamination in the Rockford school’s drinking water but says precautions will be taken until test results come back within about two weeks.
Wolverine World Wide used chemicals at its former tannery in Rockford to waterproof leather for Hush Puppies shoe manufacturing. Dump sites have turned up in the area, with contamination including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
State toxicologists say exposure to PFAS have been linked to cancer as well as other health issues.
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