FENNVILLE, Mich. (AP) —Food processors in rural western Michigan have sprayed so much wastewater onto fields that heavy metals have seeped into groundwater and contaminated wells.
The Detroit Free Press reported Sunday that residents are frustrated and scared of the water that flows from their taps.
"Boiled eggs turn black inside the shell," said Kari Craton, whose well has been replaced twice because of contamination from the local Birds Eye plant. "If it can get inside an eggshell, what do our insides look like?"
About 50 families live near a plume of groundwater contaminated with metals that spread from the Birds Eye processing plant, the newspaper reported. Another plume is at a nearby Minute Maid juice plant.
The Free Press reported that wells are contaminated because companies sprayed untreated fruit and vegetable wastewater onto farm fields. That had been an accepted practice for decades, when it was thought that the wastewater would restore nutrients in the soil and would be filtered as it percolated into groundwater. However, scientists determined in the last decade that too much waste allows naturally occurring metals in the soil to leach into groundwater.
The state says residents don't face any acute health dangers, although the long-term risks are uncertain. Industry officials say they are working with state environmental officials.
The state is negotiating behind closed doors with Birds Eye and other companies over what to do. Birds Eye said in a statement that it shares residents' concern about groundwater and is working with the Department of Environmental Quality to define the extent of the problem and fix it. It plans to spend $3.5 million for a plant to treat its wastewater.
Some streams have been contaminated, killing fish. Tainted groundwater also moves into wells, destroying water softeners, washers, dishwashers and plumbing. Residents say the water causes orange fingernails and sick pets, and they worry about what they see as unexplained tumors, illnesses and even deaths.
The Free Press said no health studies have been done to assess whether the contaminants are to blame.
Eric Chatterson, a Department of Environmental Quality official who handles contaminated sites, said the state must protect its groundwater and follow the law, but it doesn't want to put processors out of business.
"We're trying to deal with them as fast as we can," Chatterson said.
Agriculture is Michigan's No. 2 industry and brought in more than $63 billion last year. Firms that freeze, can and dry foods employ thousands of workers.
In 2000, Coca-Cola North America and state officials negotiated an agreement to resolve groundwater contamination caused by wastewater sprayed from the firm's Minute Maid juice plant onto fields in Paw Paw. Coke agreed to pay a $50,000 fine, build a $7-million water treatment system and stop spraying.
But nine years later, groundwater remains contaminated. The investigation languished for years as the company denied it had caused the contamination, Chatterson said.
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