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Agency study finds private CyclePure kits generally align with certified labs in Cadillac sampling
Summary
A state comparability study resampling 20 Cadillac homes found CyclePure, Merit and Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy-contracted lab results were typically within a few parts per trillion, though earlier resident-supplied CyclePure samples had occasionally reported exceedances that agency resampling did not reproduce.
Miranda Trela, an environmental department analyst with Empira, told the group the agency resampled 20 Cadillac homes after residents submitted CyclePure private test-kit results that sometimes showed PFOS/PFOA above drinking-water criteria. The agency collected paired indoor and outdoor samples for three laboratories to compare results.
The agency found generally good comparability between CyclePure, Merit and the lab contracted by Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. "We did find good comparability between three different lab results. They were typically within a few parts per trillion of one another," Trela said. Ten of the 20 properties were non-detect for PFAS across all three labs.
The comparability exercise began after several resident CyclePure tests showed PFOS while agency resampling returned non-detects, prompting concern among residents about the validity of private-kit results. "When we went out and resampled those homes... we got non-detect results," Trela said, describing why the study was launched.
Staff clarified that Merit and the Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy-contracted lab used EPA-certified drinking-water methods while CyclePure uses a non-certified but comparable method. A participant noted CyclePure's method detection limit was reported as about 1 part per trillion compared with roughly 2 parts per trillion for the certified labs. Trela and others emphasized that small differences in the low-ppt range are expected and recommended robust quality-control procedures for any sampling program.
Officials also discussed cost trade-offs: CyclePure samples run roughly $80 each, while certified laboratory analysis can run about $300 per sample, making CyclePure more affordable for broad screening if users accept the method differences. Trela said several other states had contacted the agency about running similar comparability studies.
The agency flagged one house where outdoor PFOA was slightly elevated across methods and said it would continue targeted follow-up in Cadillac, noting that exceedances in the area did not form a single continuous plume and that some sampling locations were near a superfund site in the Cadillac Industrial Park. The agency did not draw broader conclusions about exposure from the study beyond the comparability findings.
The meeting discussion ended with staff advising residents and local groups on sampling best practices and quality assurance for submitting data that can be compared with agency-collected results.
