A company in Wixom has set a new record for PFAS, and it's not the kind of record to be proud of.
A state test found 5,500 parts per trillion of PFAS in Norton Creek in Oakland County -- more than 450 times what's allowed in surface water.
The chemicals have been traced to Tribar Manufacturing, which makes chrome-plated car parts.
Laura Rubin is head of the Huron River Watershed Council. She says PFAS chemicals are ubiquitous in Michigan.
"Paper manufacturers, metal finishers, electroplaters, tanneries," she ticks off a short list, "and Michigan has a lot of manufacturers."
And now that Michigan is looking for the industrial chemicals, it's finding them everywhere. The compounds have been linked to health problems.
Tribar is installing a filtration system with the aim of dramatically lowering its PFAS discharges. The state standard for surface water is 12 parts per trillion.
