“RALEIGH — Potentially harmful compounds connected with a Bladen County plant were found in vegetables grown around a similar facility in the Netherlands, scientists said Monday.
GenX and PFOA also were found in grass and leaves around the Dutch plant, according to the four scientists from the Netherlands who talked to the state’s Science Advisory Board in a video conference call. They said they expect to get information in May about whether the compounds are in fish from bodies of water near the plant.
North Carolina officials have been investigating GenX since news broke in June that researchers had discovered it the previous year in the Cape Fear River. The compound was later found in more than 250 private wells around the Chemours plant in Bladen County, including more than 120 at levels above the state’s health goal…
The scientists from the Netherlands talked to the state science board during its meeting Monday. The scientists said testing from carrots, beets, lettuce and other vegetables at 10 sites around the Chemours plant there were tested. About 60 percent did not have GenX or PFOA, but those grown closer to the plant had both, they said. They did not say how far out from the plant the tests were conducted.
GenX, which replaced C8, has been detected in honey grown around the Bladen County plant, but it’s not known if vegetables in the area have been tested or if the honey was tested for C8. Most of the area around the plant is farmland, and many residents in the area have gardens.”
Read the full article by Steve DeVane.