City, state, and federal officials on Tuesday (10/18/2022) released an update on response activities for the warehouse fire at the Resolute Forest Products in Menominee, which started back on October 6th and is still not completely extinguished.
• As the unified emergency response to the Menominee Warehouse Fire continues into a longer term recovery phase, all involved agencies and industry parties are planning a press conference in Menominee on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022.
• We will provide presentations about firefighting efforts, containment and management of fire runoff water, sampling of surface water and drinking water, community air monitoring and sampling, and recovery actions related to the rehabilitation of the fire scene.
• Unified command will explain how environmental, public health, fire departments and emergency management agencies from two states, two counties, and two cities have worked together at this response.
• Fire suppression operations continue to identify and extinguish remaining smoldering hot spots in burned out areas of the warehouse. These actions are being led by an MDNR wildland fire Incident Management Team.
• Demolition and debris removal are well underway. KKIL and Resolute Forest Products are
coordinating these efforts.
• PFAS are a large group of human-made chemicals that do not occur naturally in the environment. PFAS chemicals were released during the on-going Menominee warehouse fire and entered the Menominee River. As the investigation continues, residents should be aware results could change. State and federal agencies and water utilities will continue to sample drinking water plant intakes and treated drinking water leaving the plants.
• Treated drinking water results received to date for the cities of Menominee and Marinette show PFAS levels below Michigan or Wisconsin health-based or regulatory standards for measured PFAS compounds. Michigan and Wisconsin have evaluated the risks and determined that public risks to these PFAS currently are considered low. If
• The incident is being handled under a unified command structure led by EPA. Agencies
participating in the unified command are EGLE, Wisconsin DNR, Michigan Department of Health
and Human Services (MDHHS), Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), Menominee
County, Marinette County, Public Health, Delta & Menominee Counties, Marinette County
Public Health, the cities of Menominee and Marinette, and the industrial tenants of the
warehouse.
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