Extensive Data Demonstrates Continued Effectiveness of Whole House Filters

Wolverine Worldwide responded quickly in 2017 to the discovery of PFOA and PFOS in area groundwater by, among other actions, providing over 500 whole house filters to homeowners in our community.

Over the past 16 months, Wolverine has been maintaining and regularly testing these filters, and has collected over 3,000 samples as part of that process. The most recent results continue to show that these filters eliminate PFOA and PFOS (two of the chemicals from 3M’s Scotchgard product), as well as a range of other PFAS compounds. We wanted to share these updated results – which are consistent with those we posted in January 2018 and April 2018 – as part of our ongoing commitment to keep the community informed.

Additional details and highlights of the most recent testing show:

The whole house filters are eliminating PFOA, PFOS, and a range of other PFAS compounds. This applies across all homes, including those with the highest and lowest concentrations.
Any sporadic appearances of these compounds during testing were not repeated when retested, and resulted in the third party lab altering its testing protocols to reduce the chances of “false positives.”
After 16 months in operation, none of the carbon canisters have required replacement – even at homes with the highest concentrations. Since every filter includes at least two carbon canisters, this means the systems are 100% redundant.
When the carbon canisters do need to be replaced, the PFOA, PFOS and other PFAS compounds will be destroyed, and will not be returned to the environment.
Additional details about the operation and maintenance of the filters is available here, and a depiction of the filter system design is available here.

We will continue to keep the community updated about monitoring results and filter maintenance through our blog at WeAreWolverine.com. Any residents with questions are encouraged to contact us directly at (616) 866-5627 of HouseStreet@wwwinc.com.

WE ARE WOLVERINE

Rockford is our home and we’ve always acted responsibly and taken our obligations as part of this community personally.

In 1998, 3M began discussions on their formula change with its customers because PFOA and PFOS – two of the PFAS family of compounds – were “persistent in the environment.” We relied on 3M’s representations to the EPA, FDA, scientific bodies, and Wolverine regarding the safety of the Scotchgard™ formula.

We’ve been working with MDEQ since November 2016, when we became aware of the possible presence of PFAS in groundwater at our former Tannery location. We continue to work with the state to identify and test possible sites, and we’re close to completing that process. Every resident whose water is being tested has a water solution until they have answers. While the science is not conclusive, we’re working proactively to develop solutions, share information with you, and restore our community’s confidence in its drinking water. Much more information is available here on our WeAreWolverine.com blog.