Willow Waldron once spent summer afternoons paddling her kayak through West Michigan’s winding rivers, with her three dogs in tow. But those carefree outings came to a halt after she learned that the foamy debris on the surface of the water — something she once laughed off as harmless — contained PFAS, a class of hazardous industrial chemicals now linked to significant health risks.
“I remember telling my dad about the foam we played with on the water,” she said. “He explained it wasn’t safe — that it was something to be taken seriously. And I’ve never forgotten that.”
Waldron, a Greenville resident, no longer lets her dogs drink from or even touch the waters she once frequented. Now, when she takes them on walks near inland lakes, she carries roughly three liters of clean water to keep them hydrated. All three dogs remain leashed, not for obedience but out of necessity — to prevent them from running toward the river.
Contamination concerns have changed the way many in the region interact with nature. What began as a local, West Michigan issue has since expanded statewide, spurring legislative action and pushing environmental technology companies like Revive Environmental Technology to the front lines of the cleanup effort.
Revive Environmental’s Facility Takes Direct Aim at PFAS
While lawmakers work on monitoring and prevention, private industry is stepping up with new tools to actively destroy PFAS in the environment.
Revive Environmental Technology, a full-service water treatment and contaminant mitigation company, is at the forefront of this effort. A partnership between Battelle, a Columbus, Ohio-based nonprofit science and technology institute, and Viking Global Investors, Revive is deploying proven technologies across the U.S. to isolate and annihilate PFAS chemicals in various formats — from groundwater and landfill leachate to firefighting foams and industrial wastewater.
The company now operates two advanced treatment facilities in West Michigan, including its newest location at 2070 Turner Ave NW in Walker. There, three PFAS Annihilator units operate around the clock to destroy the chemicals using supercritical water oxidation (SCWO), a process that applies intense heat and pressure to break PFAS molecules down into harmless byproducts.
“Incineration, landfilling, deep well injection — these legacy disposal methods never fully solved the problem,” said Rick Gillespie, Revive’s Chief Commercial Officer. “Our approach is different. We don’t contain PFAS — we destroy it. That’s a major shift.”
Revive’s facilities are not only helping reduce PFAS contamination locally but also offering scalable, certified solutions for communities nationwide. One high-profile example: the Heritage-Crystal Clean wastewater treatment plant in Wyoming, Mich., which uses Revive’s technology to treat up to 160,000 gallons of PFAS-laden wastewater daily, issuing certificates of destruction for each batch.
A Mission with Personal Roots
Many of the company’s employees, like Waldron, have personal stakes in the fight against PFAS. This is where other individuals like Nathan Wagner, Gabe Harpe, and Jacob Carbary come in. All in their twenties — some with young children for whom they want to provide a cleaner future, another from a long line of firefighters, and some who are now battling cancer — these young adults grew up with the PFAS problem. They’ve heard about it their whole lives, and now there’s a place they can go locally to work to be part of the solution.
One team member joined Revive after a family member was diagnosed with cancer linked to chemical exposure. That connection to the issue has shaped the company’s culture and commitment to local hiring and community education.
“I live here. I drink the water here. This is personal,” said one Revive employee. “We want people to know that real solutions exist — and they’re coming from within this community.”
From Awareness to Action
West Michigan has become a bellwether for how communities can respond to environmental crises. With local lawmakers taking steps to monitor public health, and companies like Revive providing tools for remediation, residents are gradually moving from a place of concern to one of cautious optimism.
Still, the daily impact on individuals like Willow Waldron remains a potent reminder that PFAS pollution is not a distant or abstract problem — it’s here, in the rivers and lakes that define Michigan’s landscape.
“We live surrounded by water, and it used to be a source of joy and peace for me,” Waldron said. “Now it’s something I have to plan around — not just for me, but for the health of my dogs, my family, and my community.”
What Are PFAS and Why Do They Matter?
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals used in products that resist heat, oil, stains and water. Found in everything from non-stick pans to firefighting foam, PFAS have earned the nickname “forever chemicals” because they do not easily break down in the environment or the human body.
In West Michigan, the legacy of PFAS contamination has become particularly visible due to the Wolverine Worldwide pollution crisis in Rockford, where tannery waste containing PFAS leached into groundwater, contaminating private wells and sparking legal and public health battles that continue today.
In response to growing concern, the Michigan Legislature has taken action. Bipartisan bills introduced earlier this year — Senate Bills 298 and 299, and House Bills 4499 and 4500 — aim to offer free PFAS blood testing to children who lived in areas affected by contaminated water supplies.
“These chemicals are dangerous, and we need to take every step possible to understand their impact,” said Sen. Mark Huizenga, R-Walker, one of the legislation’s sponsors. “This is about giving families peace of mind and ensuring our kids are safe.”
Rep. Julie Rogers, D-Kalamazoo, echoed that sentiment. “As a healthcare professional, I’ve seen how exposure to toxins like PFAS can affect families. This testing is essential for early intervention and data collection.”
The bills would allow physicians to order blood tests — with parental consent — for children under age 11 who lived in homes relying on wells or public systems with PFAS levels exceeding Michigan’s limits as of Jan. 1, 2012. The legislation also calls for expanded research and public education efforts.
