Read the full article by Michael Futch (Greensboro News and Record)
“FAYETTEVILLE — Tests of groundwater from 55 private drinking water wells has detected potentially harmful PFAS compounds 12 miles northeast from the Chemours plant, according to the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.
That state department is the lead stewardship agency for the protection of North Carolina’s environmental resources.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a group of man-made chemicals that have been in use since the 1940s, and traditionally have been found in many consumer products like cookware, food packaging and stain repellents.
GenX is a member of that family of chemical compounds.
Evidence shows that PFAS chemicals might cause adverse health effects, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., says small doses of PFAS compounds have been linked to cancer, harm to reproductive and immune systems, and other diseases.
‘This was found in groundwater,’ DEQ spokeswoman Laura Leonard said Wednesday. ‘They were testing drinking water wells.’
Leonard said those residents who live within a 12-mile radius of the plant are encouraged to have their wells sampled.
‘We really encourage people, if they’re contacted, to have their well tested,’ Leonard said. ‘It is important for them to get their wells sampled.’
Lisa Randall, a spokeswoman for Chemours, did not immediately return a phone message left Wednesday.
But Chemours officials have said that the amount of GenX found in wells around the plant is not harmful.
Chemours is testing for GenX and other PFAS compounds under the conditions of a consent order signed by the company, DEQ and Cape Fear River Watch, an environmental group.
Each time GenX or other compounds are found at certain levels, Chemours has to test wells that are a fourth of a mile farther from the plant…”