News Release: EGLE to host first-ever Great Lakes PFAS Summit in October 2020

02/11/2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb.  11, 2020
EGLE Media Office, EGLE-Assist@Michigan.gov, 517-284-9278
Nicole Sanabria, EGLE, SanabriaN@Michigan.gov

EGLE to host first-ever Great Lakes
PFAS Summit in October 2020
Call for abstracts deadline set for Feb. 23

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) currently is accepting speaker abstracts for the Great Lakes Water PFAS Summit, scheduled for Oct. 27-28, 2020, in Lansing, Michigan. The speaker abstract deadline is Feb. 23.  

One of the biggest stories in chemical contamination emerging over the past several years has been per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This class of chemicals has been used for decades to make everything from stain-repellent and waterproof coatings used in consumer products to specialized uses in firefighting and manufacturing.

States throughout the nation, including the Great Lakes region, are finding PFAS contamination in a growing number of locations where these persistent chemicals pose a threat to people and the environment. The Great Lakes PFAS Summit will bring together environmental program managers, policy experts, researchers and contractors from around the Great Lakes region to share the challenges of addressing this contamination and present innovative technical solutions developed to address these “forever” chemicals.  

Participants may include local, state, and federal government officials; environmental consultants and vendors; academic researchers and students; industry managing PFAS contamination; and community organizations.

“Michigan is a national leader in responding to PFAS contamination and we are proud to organize and host this first-of-its-kind summit,” EGLE Director Liesl Clark said. “We’re excited to share what we’ve learned from our work to protect Michiganders from PFAS contamination and look forward to collaborating with fellow regulators, scientists and policymakers on this growing national problem.”

Topic areas of the summit will include:

  • Rules and Regulations

  • Public Health and Communication

  • Pollution Prevention

  • Materials Management

  • Sampling and Analytical Data

  • Treatment Technology and Research

  • PFAS in Agriculture and Natural Resources

For more information, including the Call for Abstracts, go to Michigan.gov/EGLEevents.

Conference details

  • When: October 27-28, 2020

  • Where: Lansing Center, 333 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, Michigan 48933

  • Abstract submission deadline: 11:59 p.m., Feb. 23, 2020. Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified by early April 2020.

  • Sponsor/exhibitor registration opens in May.

  • Attendee registration opens in August.

Rachel Frantzpfas