WIXOM (WWJ) The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is giving the green light to swim and kayak in the Huron River, Kent Lake and other waters near an Oakland County sewage plant where a cancer-causing chemical was released two weeks ago.
The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) released a statement Friday, saying MDHHS has lifted a “no contact” order with the Huron River for people and pets. The order had been issued on August 2nd after hexavalent chromium was released into the Wixom Sewage Treatment Facility from Tribar Manufacturing in Wixom the previous weekend (July 29).
The sewer feeds the Wixom wastewater treatment plant—which releases into the Huron river system.
“The amount of hexavalent chromium released into the Huron River was much less than originally thought,” the statement read.
Upon further testing of water samples, health officials discovered that a much less toxic chemical—trivalent chromium— primarily comprised the substances released into the river.
Trivalent chromium is a naturally occurring chemical that is sometimes used as a diet supplement and is generally considered safe for humans. However, hexavalent chromium is known to cause cancer and other health problems if inhaled, ingested, or through skin-to-skin contact.
Of 146 samples taken across more than 40 river miles; six contained trivalent chromium and three contained hexavalent but were “well below the level that could cause harm,” EGLE said in a statement.
Related
The now-lifted Huron River “no contact order” for people and pets stretched between North Wixom Road in Oakland County and Kensington Road in Livingston County, including North Creek, Hubbell Pond, and Kent Lake. From the beginning, officials always emphasized there was no threat to the drinking water as the nearest water intake was in Ann Arbor.