CDC selects Michigan as 1 of 6 states to receive $5 million annually to test residents for environmental chemical exposure

UPPER MICHIGAN. (WLUC) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has selected Michigan, as one of six state-based biomonitoring programs to receive a total of $5 million annually from September 2024 to 2027.

These awards are part of the CDC’s ongoing efforts to use biomonitoring to identify communities at risk of potentially harmful environmental exposures. Biomonitoring is the direct measurement of environmental chemicals in people’s blood, serum, and urine. It provides critical data on the amount of chemicals entering the human body from various environmental sources.

According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), this CDC funding supports the Michigan Chemical Exposure Monitoring (MiChEM) program, which measures over 190 chemicals in a statewide, representative sample of Michigan adults, with an emphasis on those living in areas with potential increased risk of chemical exposure. It also supports a new project that will measure metals and PFAS among pregnant adults in areas of increased risk of chemical exposure.

An MDHHS public affairs officer said the MiChEM program has already completed one round of data collection (2022-2024) with support from a previous CDC grant. In this first round of data collection, three areas in the Upper Peninsula were randomly selected to contribute to a representative sample of the state and participate in data collection. Additional communities will be randomly selected to represent the state for the next round of data collection, which may include communities in the Upper Peninsula.

MiChEM findings will help identify subpopulations with elevated concentrations, track trends in chemical concentrations over time, and help identify ways to reduce exposures among Michiganders. The findings will be relevant to all Michiganders, including those living in the U.P.

MDHHS also said that while not related to the CDC Biomonitoring Grant, the state department and local health departments (LHDs) respond to PFAS sites across the state of Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula. They collaborate with other State departments on the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART). As part of these responses, MDHHS and LHDs conduct residential well sampling to determine PFAS levels and to identify what public health recommendations are needed to reduce exposure risk.

A publicly available interactive map is available on the MPART website showing where these sites are: MPART: PFAS Geographic Information System.