Michigan awarded $1 million to study toxic 'forever chemicals'

Michigan has been selected as one of seven states by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a $1 million grant to conduct a health study of compounds known as toxic "forever chemicals," officials announced Tuesday. The grant, from the CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, will fund a study to investigate the relationship between drinking water contaminated with PFAS and the health effects. The state will conduct the project in the city of Parchment, Cooper Township and the North Kent County area, department officials said. The communities were selected for the study because of uniquely high levels of man-made industrial material, known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, found in their drinking water. Their populations are large enough to meet the requirements of the grant, officials said., PFAS are dubbed "forever chemcials" because they persist so long in the environment. State officials hope to recruit 1,000 adults and 300 children in the communities to participate in the project.