Midland dioxin results to be released next month
 By Kathie Marchlewski, Midland Daily News
02/11/2007

The results are in, and while the state and The Dow Chemical Co. aren't going to release the levels of dioxin found in Midland soils until March, both agree that the recent testing turned up nothing unexpected.

Some levels may be higher than the state's residential contact criteria of 90 parts per trillion, but none of the 400 or so samples taken from the city showed more than 1,000 parts per trillion, Dow's Michigan Dioxin Initiative Director Greg Cochran said.

"A large part of the data looks like we would have expected it to look," said Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Deputy Director Jim Sygo.

Previous testing in Midland showed levels in the low to mid-hundreds.

Sygo said that in some recent samples taken near the Dow plant, tests did show dioxin at deeper levels than expected -- about 8 inches down.

Unlike Tittabawassee River contamination, which is a result of historical river disposal, Midland's contamination is from airborne emissions. The river dioxin is more pervasive and wide-spread. Levels as high as 87,000 ppt have been measured and contamination has been found at every depth, from deep in the channel to the top layer, into the river banks and on them. In Midland, the dioxin is in the top couple inches of soil.

"It could be taken care of with a rototiller," Sygo said.

And while Dow has agreed to and has plans to remove hotspots of dioxin in the river, activities, if any, to resolve Midland contamination are yet to be determined.

Sygo said that while 90 ppt is the general number the state attaches to residential cleanup requirements, responsible parties, in this case, Dow, can also opt to perform additional testing that would allow the number to be shifted. Under way is a bioavailability test, which would determine how much dioxin is absorbed by the body from ingested soil.

Cochran said the site specific criteria will use the same algorithm used by the state to promulgate the 90 ppt. standard, but will include the application of new information where available.

"We're not predetermining what the number has to be," Sygo said.

The state's own standards also vary by land use. Industrial property, for example is allowed to have as many as 999 parts per trillion in soil and commercial property as high as 2,200 ppt.

Where Midland's number will land is still a topic for discussion between the company and the DEQ and will rely on further test results, some of which won't be conducted until later this year.

Among the issues still to work out are details of a human health risk assessment that the two say is a subject of disagreement. Additional soil sampling to support that assessment, and an ecological one, is likely.

The DEQ characterizes the Midland test results as a second milestone in the city's soil sampling program. The first was the actual act of collecting samples.

"This is the first new data that's been collected in 10 years," said DEQ Geologist Allan Taylor. "We've been stalled on this for a very long time."

The City of Midland in 2004 refused access to city-owned property for dioxin sampling. Officials at that time said they wanted to know first what actions would be taken at what levels.

While that question remains unanswered, the DEQ has assured the city and its residents that results at this time would not be linked to specific properties -- a concern because of the potential for legal liabilities that would be created by real estate disclosure requirements --unless levels came in higher than the 1,000 ppt federally prescribed action level for dioxin clean up.

DEQ officials said the Midland soil sample results -- sans property descriptions where samples were taken -- will likely be posted on the DEQ website around the beginning of March.

The web address is www.mi.gov/deqdioxin.

Previous Midland soil sampling In 1998, the MDEQ tested Dow's Corporate Center for dioxin, using the site as an alternative to other locations. The idea was that because of its location and proximity to the plant, it might provide an indication of what levels would be found nearby. The highest level of dioxin found was 584 parts per trillion.

Of the other sites tested that year, the highest numbers included Dow's Michigan Operations. The northeast perimeter fence line turned up a sample with 1,068 ppt. On the Dow plant site, one sample showed 17,028 ppt

In 1996, the Midland community's soil also was sampled and tested for dioxins and furans. The highest levels were found in the north and northeast portions of the city -- 210 and 125 parts per trillion. Samples taken in the southeast quadrant of the city showed 78 ppt and in the southwest quadrant of the city, 95 ppt.

Michigan's background level mean is 6 ppt.

©Midland Daily News 2007
 

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