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Michigan Advisory: Don't Eat Deer From Near Former Wurtsmith Air Base

/ CBS Detroit

OSCODA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP)

Officials are urging people not to eat deer from near a marsh that borders a former military base in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula due to potential contamination.

US-LIFESTYLE-DEER
TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Veronika OLEKSYN, LIFESTYLE-US-DEER A deer is seen next to a parking lot in Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC on July 26, 2013. With few natural predators to keep their population in check, massive numbers of deer in the United States are causing millions of dollars in damage a year. While beloved by many, Bambi is blamed not only for accidents -- 1.2 million between July 2011 and June 2012 according to one estimate -- but also a loss of vegetation and even the spread of disease in suburban America. Amid qualms about shooting rifles in residential areas, communities are getting creative and turning to bow hunting and even birth control to keep deer numbers -- believed to be between 30 and 35 million -- down close to home. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

The departments of Health and Human Services and Natural Resources announced the advisory Friday after a deer about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from Clark's Marsh in Oscoda Township had high levels of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, or PFOS. The advisory covers an area 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the marsh.

Officials tested 20 deer around the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base .

Phil Norman (L), Deer Project Manager fo
COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES: Phil Norman (L), Deer Project Manager for the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks, and Mike McDonagh load deer into the bed of a truck at the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area in Columbia, Maryland,16 December 2003. Managers of Middle Patuxent organized the hunt to decrease deer population to levels which can be sustained by the environmental area. AFP PHOTO/ NICHOLAS ROBERTS (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS ROBERTS/AFP/Getty Images)

The area is among many in Michigan where toxins known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, turned up . PFOS is one type of PFAS. They were a component of firefighting foam used at the base.

The DNR has been testing deer elsewhere.

© 2018 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

First published on October 19, 2018 / 2:01 PM EDT

© 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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