Water Filtration Systems Archives

Wolverine Worldwide Submits Reports of 2018 Testing at Former Tannery and House Street Sites; Provides Additional Details on Tannery Filtration System

Testing Reports

Wolverine Worldwide has been working diligently with regulators over the past 24 months to conduct testing and collect data from our former Tannery and House Street sites. We shared preliminary results from the Tannery in November 2017, and from House Street in May 2018. We announced plans to conduct additional testing at these sites in May 2018 and June 2018.

Wolverine operated the Tannery in Rockford from the early 1890s until it was closed in 2009, then decommissioned, demolished, and tested under EPA and MDEQ supervision. For a period of time while the Tannery was in operation, certain leather was treated with Scotchgard™, which 3M developed and profited from by selling it to Wolverine and millions of others. House Street was a state-licensed and regulated disposal site where byproducts from Wolverine’s tannery operations were disposed of during the 1960s and beginning of 1970.

The additional testing completed at these two locations in 2018 was extensive, and included more than 1,700 groundwater, surface water, sediment, soil, and vapor gas samples, along with the installation of 107 monitoring wells and almost 800 soil borings. Substances tested for included PFOA, PFOS, and other PFAS compounds, along with metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), and organic compounds.

The work completed is depicted on these maps, and work at the former Tannery is described in this detailed Summary Report we submitted to the EPA in January 2019. We submitted a similar report to the EPA regarding 2018 testing at House Street, and we will release that report once the EPA has completed its review.

The results of the extensive groundwater testing at the former Tannery were largely consistent with those received in earlier testing and, as a reminder, this groundwater is not used for drinking water. A few locations had elevated levels of certain compounds in soils below the surface, and Wolverine has proposed to remove those soils and to also take the following actions that are under review by the EPA:

Kayak Launch Area: The installation of a protective matting in the area around the boat launch where the public may walk in the water during boat launch or removal. Once the matting is installed, it will be covered with gravel similar to the gravel currently installed at the boat launch near the water line.
Rum Creek Access Area: Install a fence between the river and the White Pine Trail to minimize access to this area while the investigation continues.
Lead and Chromium: Continue testing to identify and locate the extent of these materials and excavate those materials where necessary.

Rogue River Tannery Filtration System

We also wanted to provide an update to the community on the filtration system we announced last year to intercept and treat groundwater from the former Tannery before it reaches the Rogue River. We took the initiative to develop and implement a solution to remove PFOA and PFOS (two of the chemicals from 3M’s Scotchgard product), as well as a range of other substances from groundwater at the former Tannery because the Rogue River is important to Wolverine, and we know how important it is to the community.

Currently, we are completing the design and engineering of the system. Earlier this year, we drilled three extraction wells in the locations shown on this map, which will be used in the system to intercept groundwater from the former Tannery site and divert it to a filtration system.

Over the next few months, we will be installing and testing the filtration equipment, which will remove PFOA, PFOS, a range of other PFAS compounds, metals, VOCs, SVOCs, and organic compounds. We expect the system will be installed and ready to begin operating by Fall of this year. Wolverine will regularly monitor its effectiveness and provide additional details as they become available.

All of these efforts represent additional examples of Wolverine’s commitment to working proactively and aggressively to address groundwater issues in the area, and to doing its part to address them. Residents with questions are encouraged to visit our blog at www.WeAreWolverine.com, or to contact us directly at (616) 866-5627 or HouseStreet@wwwinc.com.

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.

Wolverine Extends Water Filtration Program

In our ongoing commitment to provide residents confidence in their drinking water, Wolverine Worldwide has made the decision to extend its filtration program to residents in the MDEQ-defined Rogue River, Wolven Northeast, and North Childsdale Study Areas. While sources are still being identified, we remain committed to the community and to doing what we believe to be the right thing for our friends, family and neighbors.

On January 10, 2018, the State of Michigan adopted a drinking water criterion of 70 ppt combined for PFOA and PFOS, which set an official standard for acceptable concentrations of these substances in groundwater used for drinking water purposes. This is the same conservative level adopted by the EPA in May 2016, which includes a significant safety buffer and assumes continued exposure over an entire 70-year lifetime.

As a result of the state’s new criterion of 70 ppt for PFOA/PFOS, Wolverine has changed its water filtration program in the study areas, including the Rogue River, Wolven Northeast, and North Childsdale Study Areas, as follows:

Residents who have received confirmed results with a combined detection over 70 ppt for PFOA/PFOS are eligible to receive a whole house filter. Eligible residents will be contacted by Culligan to arrange for installation. These systems use dual canister granular activated carbon adsorption, and retesting from over 500 systems installed locally has demonstrated that they effectively remove PFOA, PFOS, and other PFAS, while at the same time ensuring that these substances are not returned to the environment. Post-installation sampling and filter replacement for whole house filters is being conducted at Wolverine’s expense while additional data is collected.
Residents who have received confirmed results with a detection of PFOA or PFOS, but at a combined level that does not exceed 70 ppt, are eligible to receive a point-of-use filter for their kitchen sink. These systems are simple to operate, certified for the removal of PFOA/PFOS, and Wolverine has successfully installed over 100 of them in area homes. Filter replacement for point-of-use filters is being conducted at Wolverine’s expense while additional data is collected.

Even though the State has determined that 70 ppt of PFOA/PFOS is an acceptable level in drinking water, Wolverine is offering point-of-use filters to residents with lower concentrations because we are committed to providing residents confidence in their drinking water, and to doing what we believe to be the right thing for our friends, family and neighbors.

We started this blog to speak directly to the community and to help keep the facts straight, and we intend to do just that. Any residents with questions are encouraged to contact Wolverine directly at (616) 866-5627 or HouseStreet@wwwinc.com.

We Are Wolverine.

Wolverine Extends Whole House Filtration Program

In our ongoing commitment to provide residents confidence in their drinking water, Wolverine Worldwide has made the decision to extend its whole house filtration program to residents in the MDEQ-defined Jewell and Wolven Study Areas that have confirmed test results with any detection of PFOA or PFOS. While the extent of any impacted area has not been determined, and sources are still being identified, we remain committed to the community and doing what we believe to be the right thing for our friends, family and neighbors.

Residents in the Jewell and Wolven areas who have received confirmed results with a detection of PFOA or PFOS, and who are eligible to receive whole house filters, will be contacted by Culligan to arrange for installation. Wolverine Worldwide is voluntarily paying for testing, bottled water service, single-tap filters and the whole house systems.

Earlier this fall, Wolverine selected the Culligan/Calgon filtration system, which relies on dual canister granular activated carbon adsorption. This system has been demonstrated to effectively remove PFAS, and ensures that these compounds are not returned to the environment. The Culligan/Calgon filtration system has been used to treat water for PFAS in over 1,000 homes around the country.

We will continue to keep the community updated about this issue through our blog at WeAreWolverine.com.