EPA: No dioxin in Bay, Saginaw, Midland city water

By AP

SAGINAW, MI – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials says a second series of tests on samples collected from the Midland, Saginaw and Bay City water systems show no
contamination by highly toxic dioxins or furans.

The tests were conducted in response to residents' concerns about how drinking water might be affected by sediment stirred up by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers navigational dredging project in the Saginaw River.

A private laboratory in July analyzed for dioxins and furans in the three cities' water supply systems. But EPA last month rejected those samples as unusable because of laboratory contamination.

EPA collected additional samples after the contractor upgraded its lab equipment.

Dioxins and furans are chemical byproducts that may cause cancer and damage reproductive and immune systems.