Read the full article by Will Atwater (NC Health News).
“Within months of becoming chief of Double Creek Volunteer Fire and Rescue in November 2025, Jimmy Brown received sobering news: His station’s well water was contaminated with PFAS at levels that exceeded federal limits.
The station in Pinnacle, northwest of Winston‑Salem near Pilot Mountain, is one of 392 rural fire departments across the state whose wells were tested for PFAS in a recent study.
Since the revelation in 2016 that PFAS, or per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances, were being released into the Cape Fear River by the Fayetteville-based Chemours, awareness of the chemicals has risen across the state.
PFAS have come to be known as ‘forever chemicals’ since they resist breaking down in the environment. They also have been linked to multiple health risks.
The study was conducted by the North Carolina Collaboratory, a research group formed in 2016 by the General Assembly. The collaboratory harnesses the expertise of university researchers to address state and local government issues.