“The Environmental Protection Agency will hold a public forum Aug. 14 in Fayetteville to discuss GenX and other contamination that has been found in the Cape Fear River and private wells surrounding the Chemours Fayetteville Works Facility in Bladen County.
The forum will be used to discuss per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, that Chemours and other companies have released into the air and water. In June 2017, it was announced that the chemical GenX had contaminated drinking water in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties.
Another contaminant, known as 1,4 dioxane, has been found in Fayetteville’s drinking water in levels exceeding what the EPA considers safe for human consumption over a lifetime. That chemical, believed to be coming from the Greensboro area, is not a member of the PFAS family.
‘We are looking forward to hosting residents and stakeholders from across North Carolina to hear from them directly about their concerns and recommendations for the agency,’ EPA Regional Administrator Trey Glenn said in a news release. ‘This community engagement is critical to help us better understand how EPA can support our state and local partners in responding to challenges associated with PFAS.’
The forum will consist of two sessions, a public listening session and PFAS working session, to hear from the public and to provide tools to assist states, tribes and communities in addressing challenges with PFAS and understand ways EPA can best support the work that’s being done at the state, local and tribal level.
The community engagement session is open to the public and begins at 3 p.m. in the Crown Ballroom, 1960 Coliseum Drive. People interested in attending or speaking should register here: epa.gov/pfas/forms/pfas-community-engagement-fayettevile-nc.”
Read the full article by Greg Barnes