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Well Water Samples From Ann Arbor, Scio Township Sent For Dioxane Tests

WEMU

Drinking water samples from more than three dozen homes in Ann Arbor and Scio Township will be tested for 1,4 dioxane. 

Well water samples will be sent to a laboratory in Lansing for testing. Environmental analyst Jennifer Conn works for the Washtenaw County Health Department.  She is filling vials with water from an outside faucet at a home in Scio Township.

“We're trying to double back and hit the houses we weren't able to get samples from yesterday," she explains. "They [MDEQ] sends us vials. We fill them up and then overnight mail them to the laboratory in Lansing.”

Credit WEMU

Contamination from the Gelman dioxane plume is a threat to residents in the area west of Ann Arbor, near M-14. Conn says the tests are a precautionary measure, but homeowners she’s spoken withare concerned about the extent of the carcinogenic chemical.  “They’re wondering who's being monitored, how close they are to the [dioxane] plume, and how they [could] be exposed."

Lab results will take about four to six weeks. Conn says additional homes near the plume may have their well water tested in the coming months.

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— Amanda LeClaire is an assignment reporter and anchor for 89.1 WEMU News.  Contact her at 734.487.3363 or email her aleclair@emich.edu

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