Michigan health officials seeking Detroiters to get tested for lead, mercury, PFAS in statewide project
(CBS DETROIT) - The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says it is seeking residents in some Detroit neighborhoods to participate in a statewide project investigating certain chemicals in blood and urine.
The department says the Michigan Chemical Exposure Monitoring (MiChEM) project team will be in Detroit from Jan. 10-12, 2024 to collect data on lead, mercury, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
In the meantime, residents in the Warrendale and Franklin Park neighborhoods will receive invitations to participate. One adult from each registered household will be selected to complete a survey and provide blood or urine samples.
Those samples will be analyzed at the MDHHS Bureau of Laboratories. Each participant will receive their lab results and a $65 gift card.
MDHHS says approximately 138,000 households in the state will receive an invitation in the mail.
"The MiChEM project will help us understand more about the chemical exposures of Michigan residents, including if some groups have greater amounts of certain chemicals in their bodies and how the amounts compare to national averages," Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive, said in a written statement. "This is the first time that a project of this type and scale has been done in Michigan."
The project started recruiting residents in 2022, beginning with Lansing and part of Jackson, Ingham, Barry and Eaton counties. MDHHS says it will expand recruitment to other communities in the coming years.