Plymouth Contaminated Site Needs More Tests: MDEQ

PLYMOUTH, MI — If a former industrial site in Plymouth is going to be redeveloped, it will need additional environmental testing to determine the level of contamination and the amount of remediation needed. That’s the word from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality about the former Bathey Manufacturing Co. site, which sits on Mill Street between Ann Arbor Trail and Main Street.

The 15-acre parcel, which is now privately owned after the city of Plymouth sold it 10 years ago, is known to contain trichloroethylene, or TCE, an agent which can cause health problems like kidney and liver damage. The MDEQ told the Plymouth Observer that soil gas samples need to be taken to see if TCE has made its way into homes adjacent to the site.

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"We have no idea if there is an indoor impact at this point," MDEQ geologist Brandon Alger said, adding later, "If there is a risk, we want to know yesterday."

"But it does appear that the responsible party (the owner) wants to work in the right direction and see if there is an issue there," Alger said. "Ideally, what we will find is that there is no TCE in the soil gas."

For more, go to the Plymouth Observer.

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