GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The federal government is sending some $4 million to Michigan to study residents’ exposure to contaminants like PFAS and lead.

The cash from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be used over the next five years for “biomonitoring.” Essentially, state officials will work to get a better idea of the toxins we have been exposed to by looking at what’s in our bodies.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services plans to select a group of adults representative of the state’s population and test them for chemicals including PFAS, PCBs, pesticides, arsenic, mercury and lead. Officials say that will help identify where exposure is happening and point out what populations are most at risk.

Part of the project will look specifically at firefighters and PFAS. One of the products PFAS is found in is a type of foam used to fight jet fuel fires.

State officials say they believe that our state’s industrial history coupled with the number of people using wells and the popularity of hunting and fishing makes the potential for exposure greater. That’s what these newly funded studies will be looking to ascertain.