Read the full article by Paul Woolverton (gaston gazette)
“Of these, 33 had more GenX in their water than the maximum recommended by North Carolina health officials.
Researchers from N.C. State University tested 84 wells and water from 85 homes in Cumberland and Bladen counties near the Chemours chemical factory south of Fayetteville and found the GenX chemical in 70 of them, they said during a public forum Saturday.
Of these, 33 wells had GenX concentrations of more than 140 parts per trillion, said scientist Nadine Kotlarz of the university’s GenX Exposure Study. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services says people should avoid water with more than this amount in it.
‘At this level or lower, no human health effects are expected in the most sensitive people over a lifetime of exposure,’ says a slide shown in Saturday’s forum.
The findings of the GenX Exposure Study were presented to the public in an online video conference which organizers said had nearly 110 people.
GenX is a PFAS (PFAS stands for ‘perfluoroalkyl substance’ and ‘polyfluoroalkyl substance’) that the Chemours Co.’s Fayetteville Works plant discharged into the air and the Cape Fear River for many years. The chemical was not regulated at the time.
The study found other kinds of PFAS chemicals, Kotlarz said, ‘and wells with higher GenX tended to have higher levels of the other PFAS.’
The Environmental Protection Agency says animal research has found PFAS chemicals have caused tumors and other health problems in animal studies.
State regulators took action in summer 2017 after the StarNews in Wilmington reported that GenX from the Cape Fear River was getting drinking water supplies in the Wilmington area.
Later research found GenX in wells in the area around the factory, which is off N.C. 87 about 15 miles outside Fayetteville. Chemours has been supplying bottled water and water filtration systems to some homes in that area…”