WHITE PIGEON, MI (From news reports) -- The former site of the White Pigeon Paper Company -- now owned and operated by Graphic Packaging International -- has been added to the state's list of PFAS contamination sites.

One of 82 sites listed by the state the Graphic Packaging site is one of two in St. Joseph County, along with automotive accessory manufacturer Lear Siegler in Mendon.

The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) updated officials from St. Joseph County and White Pigeon Township earlier this week on results of its 2019 site assessment which found PFAS in all 19 monitoring wells on the 54-acre property, located on the banks of the Pigeon River.

PFAS are a family of thousands of synthetic chemicals used in many nonstick and waterproof products and firefighting foam. Exposure to the chemicals has been linked to health problems like cancer and autoimmune disease. They have been nicknamed "forever chemicals" because the compounds resist breaking down in the environment.

The groundwater from 16 of the monitoring wells tested at the site were found to contain PFAS at concentrations exceeding the groundwater criteria, according to an April 2 news release from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

The highest on-site perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) + perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) concentration detected in groundwater was 15,400 parts per trillion (ppt), which exceeds EGLE's groundwater threshold of 70 ppt for PFOA + PFOS. A groundwater permit is in place for the facility, the release states.

Shallow groundwater flows from the site to the southwest, toward the Pigeon River, the state website reports. The Pigeon River empties into the St. Joseph River, which eventually flows into Lake Michigan.

As a result of testing at the site, MPART representatives from EGLE and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services worked with the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency to test 19 residential drinking water wells within White Pigeon Township, the news release states. That testing ended in March.

Three of the drinking water wells tested showed concentrations of the contaminants equal to or in excess of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's lifetime health advisory of 70 ppt for PFOA + PFOS. Bottled water has been distributed to those three houses until point-of-use filters can be installed, the release states.

Point-of-use filters also will be offered to any resident in the study area where PFAS has been detected in their well water -- at any concentration.

Due to the findings, MPART will expand its study area to the east to include 14 additional residences. Letters are being sent to homeowners in the expanded study area in early April and bottled water and filtered water pitchers will be offered until these homes can be tested, the release states.

Since all residential drinking water well testing performed by EGLE's contractor has been suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the letter also will offer home testing kits to provide residents located inside the study area with the opportunity to collect their own water samples at no cost, the release states.

The village of White Pigeon municipal water supply was previously tested for PFAS on Sept. 26, 2018, according to the state website. Test results showed no PFAS was found in the municipal water supply at that time.