PARCHMENT, MI -- Documents show PFAS manufactured by 3M were used at a paper mill in Parchment, where the toxic compounds were found contaminating the water supply for 3,100 people.

According to a 1994 chemical safety document obtained by MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette, a perfluoroalkyl polymer was a main ingredient in an oil and grease-repellent called "Scotchban FX-845." The repellent, patented by Minnesota manufacturing giant 3M, was used in laminated products produced by Fort James Corp. in Parchment.

In a statement provided to MLive, a 3M spokesperson said the company "acted reasonably and responsibly in connection with products containing PFAS, and stands behind its environmental stewardship record."

The document shows products now known to contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were once used at Parchment's shuttered paper mill. Former landfills used to dump paper-making waste are the likely source of contamination found in Parchment's water supply, according to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

The 1994 Material Safety Data Sheet was found by the city of Kalamazoo as part of an investigation into sources of PFAS contamination in Parchment's water system. Kalamazoo treats wastewater discharged from Parchment and received the MSDS documents to be made aware of hazardous chemicals.

Scotchban was used in various consumer products that resist grease, water and oil, including microwave popcorn packages. It was discontinued when 3M began phasing out products based on PFOS, one of many PFAS compounds, in 2000.

The FDA approved the product to use in food paper packaging in 1987. Almost 30 years later, the FDA removed the approval after 3M discontinued use of PFOS products.

Tom Neltner, chemicals policy director for the Environmental Defense Fund, said the FDA failed to protect residents from PFOS.

"This chemical should never have been added to paper packaging to contaminate food, and ultimately the people who trusted the Food and Drug Administration to protect them," Neltner said. "Now we learn that the legacy of this use lingers in communities where paper was treated - communities like Parchment."

An estimated 3,100 people in the city of Parchment and parts of Cooper Township that use Parchment city water were told to stop using water from their taps on July 26. Two rounds of DEQ testing showed water contaminated with high amounts of PFAS entered the municipal water system from three source wells.

One source well was found to contain 1,839 parts-per-trillion of total PFOS and PFOA, two compounds given an EPA lifetime health advisory of 70 ppt. Contamination was also found to be greater than the health advisory in nearby private wells.

(Milt Klingensmith | MLive.com)

On July 31, the DEQ began taking samples from 14 monitoring wells on an 84-acre landfill formerly used to hold waste associated with paper-making processes. Results from the tests have not been completed.

The landfill sits less than a mile south from Parchment's wellfield, which was found to be "highly susceptible to potential contaminants" by the DEQ in 2002.

Meanwhile, 3M is facing a lawsuit in Kent County, where 400 people whose drinking water was contaminated are seeking damages. Last month, Gov. Rick Snyder asked Attorney General and GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette to sue 3M over groundwater contamination linked to its products.

"We are working closely with the Attorney General's Office to put together the best case we can as the state pursues this lawsuit, and that includes using all current and historical information related to chemical exposure for Michigan residents," said Ari Adler, communications director for Snyder.

Scientists are still learning about the health effects of exposures to PFAS. However, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry acknowledges an increased risk of thyroid disease, developmental effects in infants and children, reproductive effects, hypertension in pregnant women, increased cholesterol levels and other effects.

Use in food packaging

Fluorochemicals allow food packaging products to resist grease, oil and water. Scotchban is one of several brand names associated with packaging; others were manufactured by companies like DuPont and Bayer.

Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Co. was the first paper company in Parchment, known as "The Paper City." Parchment grew under the paternal guidance of the mill and KVP founder Jacob Kindleberger, with its water system and much of its infrastructure built under his watch.

Historic records related to KVP are kept by the Parchment Community Library, including a booklet given to tour guests who visited the plant. The 1947 document explains how the company's paper products were used "from the cradle to the grave."

"Between birth and death are countless uses of products made by this mill," the booklet states. "There is scarcely a home in the U.S. or Canada into which some KVP paper does not often find its way."

According to product listings in a booklet commemorating the company's 75th anniversary, paper was used to protect meats, dairy products, cereal, fish, shortening, bread, vegetables, and other food products. Special treated papers were also made at the KVP plant, which included treatments to make paper that was water- and blood-proof for the retail meat market.

History of contamination

Multiple companies have operated the mill since, including Sutherland Paper Co., Brown Co., James River Corp. Georgia-Pacific and Crown Vantage Corp.

Fort James Corp., also known as James River, owned the Parchment paper mill, and a Cooper Township property that held two landfills, a wastewater treatment plant and wastewater lagoons from 1980-1995. The company was bought by Crown Vantage Inc.

Crown Vantage Inc. operated the facility until it filed for bankruptcy and shut down mill operations in 2000.

Before abandoning the landfill and mill site, Crown Vantage had to prove those properties didn't represent an "imminent and identifiable hazard" to public health and safety.

A federal court in California found Crown Vantage met this standard, and the bankruptcy was approved in 2001. However, court documents state soil and groundwater contamination existed in 2001 from a solvent historically used in coating processes.

James River Corp. used the landfill to dispose paper mill residuals, primarily clay and wood fiber, and fly ash was also connected to the site.

A Type-II landfill, used to dispose non-hazardous solid waste, was closed under the Solid Waste management Act sometime before 1989.

MDEQ issued a permit to James River Paper for construction of the Type-III landfill in 1987. The 40-acre landfill was used until Crown Vantage closed in 2000.

A wastewater treatment plant was used by Crown Vantage to treat wastewater from the mill until 2001. Two aerated sludge lagoons were also at the site, while 11 wastewater lagoons were previously taken out of service when the wastewater plant was upgraded in 1995.

DEQ is investigating whether other sites, some related to paper production, could be sources of PFAS in Parchment, said Michigan Department of Environmental Quality spokesperson Scott Dean.

"This stuff was so commonly in consumer products it takes a detailed investigation to get to (an answer)," Dean said.

Dean has previously referenced the former North American Aluminum Extrusion Co. site in Cooper Township as a possible source of PFAS.

In 1968, the company was accused of polluting Travis Creek with a gray sludge. According to a Kalamazoo Gazette article at the time, the waste formed a gray-white precipitate that coated the sides and bottom of the creek."

Monday, DEQ received PFAS test results for 102 private wells in Parchment and Cooper Township. A release from the Kalamazoo County Department of Health and Community Services states residents are being notified as results are received.

Requests for the results by MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette weren't granted Wednesday.

Dean said wells with the highest PFAS levels were generally found close to the Crown Vantage site. He did not give a range of levels found in private wells as of Wednesday evening, but said the largest amount found was around 340 ppt.