Hello,
My name is Amber Adams-Fall, and I live in Parchment Michigan. My husband and I purchased our home on Groveland Avenue in January of 2011, and we and our pets have been drinking Parchment city water in our household for seven years. Prior to 2011, My husbands family moved to Parchment in 1989 and received city water to their home on Orient for his entire childhood and adolescence, until present day when they relocated to Battle Creek in October of 2017. For 28 years my husbands immediate family consumed Parchment City water on a daily basis. I am writing you to address my concerns regarding the Parchment water, since my written questions were not addressed during the town hall meeting last Tuesday evening, I was not offered a form for verbal questions, and after numerous attempts on my part in the past week to open lines of communication, I do not feel that I have been able to have my concerns adequately addressed.
We were told in the town hall meeting that we would be able to contact our General Practitioner or local doctor to order a blood test that would determine whether or not the PFAS chemicals are present in our blood stream. It was clearly explained that the test results would not be relevant in terms of diagnosing previous or current illness, or determining courses of treatment for existing illnesses. The results would ONLY be relevant in terms of stating the presence of the chemicals in a persons blood stream. It has been clearly stated the the levels of PFAS in our municipal water are over 200 times the 'lifetime health advisory' and in stating that, the implication is that the toxins are harmful to health when consumed by a human. Since studies of the effects of these toxins on human health are minimal (health officials only noted ONE clinical study, the C8 study), but have shown several possible extreme health effects, I believe there is enough evidence to suggest that Parchment residents may see negative health effects due to consuming toxic water. I believe that ANYONE who has been exposed to the Parchment City water that showed unsafe levels of PFAS chemicals should have easy access to the blood test that would find those chemicals in their body.
I have now spent six days attempting to have my blood tested for PFAS, and have been unable to gain access to that service. On Wednesday, August first I saw my DO at Galesburg Family Practice, and requested that she order the test, which she did not do as she believed it was not relevant to the treatment I was seeking at that appointment. The following day, Thursday, August 2nd, I contacted my GP in Royal Oak, MI, and requested that she order the test. She looked into it and returned my call stating that the Beaumont Health System which she is a part of does not offer it, and she cannot order blood work outside of her hospital network. I called my DO in Galesburg again on Friday, insisting that the blood test be ordered for me as soon as possible, and when I heard back this morning, Monday, August 5th, I was informed that none of the labs associated with my Doctor were providing that test, but that the Kalamazoo Health Department was offering it, and I could receive it through them.
When I called the health department today, I believed that I was calling to schedule the test, and was shocked to find that when the operator had offered to transfer my call, it was not to a lab, but rather to the Parchment water hotline. I was then informed by the hotline operator that the blood test is NOT being offered by the health department, and will not be offered under any circumstances unless it becomes mandated by the state. He then told me my only option would be to have my GP or DO order the test, or independently call individual labs myself to try to find someone offering it. (In effect this is what I have already done, and been unable to get results)
It is absolutely unacceptable that this blood test is not available to any and all citizens affected by the water. You have admitted it is harmful to health. You have admitted that you do not have adequate information about the health effects. I believe it is the legal right and human right of every citizen of Parchment to have access to medical proof of the presence of toxins in our blood in order to protect ourselves in the event of further studies yielding more findings of physical damage. While I believe that these tests should be made available free of cost, I am prepared to pay for my test out of pocket, if necessary, and will expect a response within the week about where and when the blood test will be available to myself and any other Parchment resident who wishes to have one as well.
The next issue that needs to be addressed is a public health study of the effects of PFAS on Parchment residents. The only reason we have any information at all about human health effects of these toxins are because of the information gathered in other communities that experienced similar poisoning. I believe we would be making a grave mistake to not collect information from as many Parchment water consumers as possible to try to study the long range effects the water may have had on our residents. I believe our community health officials and leaders need to show an active interest and concern towards collecting data and providing any necessary care related to this issue. (This is also relevant to soil tests that would help determine whether or not it is safe to grow food producing plants in coming years)
The third issue I would like to address is one of personal loss directly related to toxic water in my household. A large portion of my household grocery bills are augmented by produce grown in my own yard. This spring I spent over $200 on seeds, compost, and plant starts for my garden, which I then spent countless hours tilling, planting, weeding, and watering. We have been informed that it is not safe to eat any produce from our yard that was watered using Parchment city water, which will result in a massive financial loss in my household. It affects not only the hundreds of food producing plants in my yard that are currently bearing fruit that I will have to throw away, but also the extra cost of watering in spring and summer gone to waste. Since anything that I preserved at home using Parchment water is also deemed unsafe, the over 150 jars of food I have canned over the course of the past year also represent significant financial damages and personal loss. I cannot imagine that I am the only household in Parchment experiencing additional losses of this nature on top of payments for water that poisoned our food and bodies. I believe that patrons of the Parchment City Water system are entitled to refunds or financial restitution.
While I understand that our local government and health officials are working hard to transition us to system that will provide us with clean drinking water, I believe it would be egregiously short sighted to ignore the numerous other long range physical and financial issues related to this crisis. You, our government, are here to represent us, the people, and I expect you to do exactly that. In summary, what I am asking for is this:
1) Regularly scheduled town hall meetings, or access to a public forum at which ALL residents have an opportunity to voice their concerns and receive answers from governmental and public health officials
2) Immediate access to a blood test for PFAS chemicals available within Kalamazoo County, to anyone who wishes to receive the test.
3) A public study or public health record of the possible health effects of PFAS on current or former residents and employees in our community; or a survey that would gather such information and compile it for public record.
4) Acknowledgement of the need for financial restitution to Parchment water customers, both for the water itself, and for personal damages associated with the use of toxic water.
While I understand that you may not have immediate responses for what I am asking, I will expect a response from you in regards to how you intend to address the issues I am putting forth today.
Sincerely,
Amber Adams-Fall
312 Groveland Ave, Parchment MI
(269) 267-1887
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