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CAPE FEAR RIVER, NC:
Fayetteville and Wilmington
GenX & PFAS in the Water Timeline
1980: The Fayetteville Works plant, run by DuPont, begins to manufacture Vinyl Ether. This results in the release of GenX.
2000: The Fayetteville
Works plant begins production of Teflon. They did not apply for the permit to do so until 2001.
2010: DuPont indicates to the NCDEQ that PFOA will be phased out by 2015. GenX will replace it.
2013-14: Although GenX is 9 times above the EPA's lifetime advisory limit, in the Cape Fear, it is unregulated and thus nothing is done. At this time it is assumed that DuPont stopped producing PFOA
2016: A study is published through NC State which confirms the presence of GenX in the Cape Fear River.
1999: Proceedings during lawsuits reveal that Dupont was aware of the health risks caused by the PFOA, which was also being released by the plant.
2005: Dupont receives $10.25 in civil penalties for failure to report environmental and health risks to the EPA concerning PFO.
2012: Scientists report the presence of GenX in the Cape Fear River. The finding are published in 2015
2015: "Performance Chemicals" business is created as a spin off of Dupont and forms Chemours Co.
Following the discovery of Genx present in the Cape Fear River, in 2016, The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released a statement, in June of 2017, that claimed the chemical poses a low risk. This statement marked the beginning of a whirlwind year for those involved with the GenX issue in NC. During the remainder of June 2017 three important events transpired.
June 15: The Wilmington Mayor demands the Chemours cease all discharge of GenX immediately.
June 20: The EPA announces their intention to investigate Chemours for failure to comply with an 2009 order under the Toxic Substance Control Act. Chemours claims they will stop the discharge of GenX
June 19: It is announced by the DEQ that 13 locations will be sampled for GenX. Chemours agrees to pay.
Later, in July of 2017 the DEQ visited the Chemours facility and discovered that GenX was still being discharged. At the same time, the preliminary results from the 13 testing sites were released, which prompted Governor Cooper to visit Wilmington. Following this visit and the results release, the governor contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and requested that public health assessments of the long-term health effects of GenX be conducted.
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As more test results begin to be released, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of NC subpoenaed the DEQ for six year of records concerning the release of GenX by the Chemours' Fayetteville Works Facility.
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Throughout August further results were released which indicated the true severity of the issue. The DEQ and the EPA continued to release reports that indicated Chemours had knowledge of the harm it was causing. These reports also indicated that GenX was not the only chemical being discharged from the plant. During this time executives and insiders from Chemours began to sell large quantities of their stock in the company. Unfortunately, September would bring more detrimental actions and knowledge.
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Sept. 5: Chemours is sent a notice of intent to suspend their discharge permit, from the DEQ.
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Sept. 13: The Fayetteville Observer announces that PFOA has been found in wells near the Chemours plant. .
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Sept. 15: Reports are released that indicate GenX is now traveling through the air.
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Sept. 6: A notice of violation is issued by the DEQ indicating that Chemours has contaminated groundwater near the plant.
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Sept. 14: It is announced that the DEQ and Chemours will begin testing more wells near the plant
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Sept. 27: Chemours is ordered, by the DEQ, to supply 19 families with personal drinking wells with water. All wells had indicated higher then safe levels of GenX
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Over the month of October 2017, various counties and residents filled lawsuits against the Chemours Fayetteville Works plant. During this time GenX was found in many other private drinking wells and various other water sources in the areas surrounding Fayetteville and Wilmington. The chemical was even discovered to have contaminated the water of two schools.
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During the first half of November 2017, the GenX Exposure Study was started. During this time further contaminations were found in both Fayetteville and Wilmington. The Chermours plant was also responsible for a chemical spill and an air leak, early in the month. The DEQ and local government began to take further actions.
Nov. 16: Chemours is notified of the DEQ's intent to revoke the company's waste water permit.
Nov. 30: A compliance letter is sent to the DEQ, from Chemours, in response to notice of intent sent on the 16th.
Nov. 21-25: Residents in Bladen and Cumberland county are given the ability to request water and air testing.
Current Events
Throughout the remainder of 2017, GenX and other toxic chemicals were found in various areas in Fayetteville and Wilmington. Meanwhile Chemours expanded it's facilities into Delaware and increased the prices of its products.
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Throughout they next few years more contamination was found and more lawsuits filled. Many of these lawsuits were settled at large cost to Chemours and DuPont.
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Currently, the NC Department of Environmental Quality claims the discharge of GenX, along with two other similar chemicals, has ceased in the Cape Fear River. Their website also claims the all finished drinking water sites, previously effected by GenX, now meet the state's health standards.
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Studies and work is still being down to improve and protect NC's water quality.
What is GenX? How can you be exposed?
GenX is a type PFAS chemical, a man-made group of chemical compounds. These chemicals can be found in food packaging, non-stick coating, and in byproduct of manufacturing processes.
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Drinking water supplies, including groundwater and surface water, may contain elevated levels of GenX, and residents can be exposed by drinking from these sources. People can also be exposed to GenX and PFAS in multiple ways including, but not limited to: food, dust, food packaging, consumer products, air, soil, and more.
Geography
GenX was first discharged in the Cape Fear River by Chemours and spinoff company, DuPont in Fayetteville. The river water along with the polluted GenX chemicals flow downstream to Wilmington and into the Atlantic Ocean, which is how GenX accumulated in the drinking water supplies of Wilmington.
Demographics of Wilmington
Population: 123,744
Poverty Rate: 22.2%
Median household income: $47,580
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Race and Ethnicity:
Hispanic: 6.3%
Black: 18.4%
White (non-hispanic): 71.7%
Asian 1.3%
Multi-racial (non-hispanic): 2.3%
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander: 0.5%
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Foreign-born population: 5.4%
Demographics of Fayetteville
Population: 211,657
Poverty Rate: 19.3%
Median household income: $45,024
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Race and Ethnicity:
Hispanic: 12.4%
Black: 41.2%
White (non-hispanic): 37.5%
Asian 2.9%
Multi-racial (non-hispanic): 6.1%
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander: 1.5%
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Foreign-born population: 7.1%
Impacts on Community
As GenX and other PFAS compounds spread from Fayetteville downstream to Wilmington, the drinking water of over 1.6 million people was potentially contaminated. 300,000 people obtain their drinking water from the Cape Fear Public Authority, a source that was positively identified as contaminated. It is estimated that around 3,000 private wells were also impacted by PFAS contamination.
Soon after the discovery of the water contamination, it was also determined that PFAS and GenX were present in the air, thus the rain, and groundwater surrounding the Fayetteville Works facilities. The impacts of these sources is still unknown.
Impacts on POC
Similar to all situations of environmental injustice, people of color experience a disproportionate burden of negative impacts due to GenX. ​
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Environmental justice activists in North Carolina believe that not enough has been done to create awareness and knowledge of GenX and its potential health impacts in communities of color and low-income communities. Language barriers also make it difficult to communicate with Hispanic and other POC communities.
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Additionally, when considering the options to remove GenX or reduce exposure, poverty eliminates a lot of the options. Reverse osmosis filter systems, which are known to remove the majority of the chemical, are expensive. Before the pandemic many could not afford the several-hundred dollar system, and now after the pandemic after people have suffered enormous economic hardship, even less can afford these costly options.
Health Impacts
According to the PFAS Testing Network, human studies suggest PFAS exposure may increase risk of thyroid disease, increase blood cholesterol levels, decrease the body's response to vaccines, decrease fertility in women, increase risk of high blood pressure & preeclampsia, and cause lower infant weight.
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In animal studies, PFAS exposure is linked to damage to the immune system, liver damage, birth defects, delayed development, and newborn deaths.
PFAS Legislation
State
In 2018, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services set a health goal of 140 ppt in drinking water. This health goal is non-regulatory and non-enforceable, and is a level at which no adverse health effects would be expected over a lifetime of exposure
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In 2018, the N.C. General Assembly passed legislation that created and funded the NC Policy Collaboratory, with a total of over $5 million in funding allocation. The NC Policy Collaboratory facilitates and funds research on PFAs at universities across the state. With the funding, the PFAS Testing Network was created to better understand PFAs and health and environmental impacts.
Cape Fear River Watch, a local nonprofit sued Chemours and the NC Department of Environmental Quality for violations to the Clean Water Act, which resulted in a consent order. The consent order requires that Chemours stop discharging GenX into the river, clean up the site, eliminate PFAS from air emissions, groundwater, and surface water discharging into the river, provide relief to communities, conduct long-term sampling of soil, water, and air, conduct health toxicity studies, and other measures to reduce exposure and pollution.
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Federal
There is no federal regulatory value related to PFAs under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The EPA set a health advisory for a combined concentration of PFOA and PFOS at 60 ppt in 2016.
Research in NC
The PFAS Testing Network is a statewide ​research initiative funded by the NC Policy Collaboratory. The network includes scientists and researchers from the following universities: NC State, Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Charlotte, ECU, and NC A&T.
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The research initiative hopes to answer questions about exposure to PFAS. The research is split into 7 areas of focus including: water sampling & PFAS analysis, private well risk modeling, PFAS removal, air emissions, applied research, communications, and data science management.
Status of Water
In January of 2018, water collected from a major water treatment plant on the Cape Fear River had a GenX concentration of 32 ppt. Water taken from the same location one year later had a concentration of 4,08 ppt. However, in January of 2020 the water's concentration had risen to 6.01 ppt. The latest sample was taken on March 30th of 2021 and held a concentration of 3.89 ppt. The general EPA standard for GenX concentration in drinking water is 70 ppt. In NC, some places are still in the process of lowering the concentration to 140 ppt.
Resources, Initiatives, Nonprofits
In the Wilmington area, there are several initiatives and nonprofits working to provide relief to impacted communities and ensure the quality of the river and surrounding environments:
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North Carolina Stop GenX in our Water
Center for Environmental Health
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Sources
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Ballard, A. (2021, March 12). GenX: Focus Shifts to Environmental Justice: Coastal Review. Retrieved May 10, 2021, from https://coastalreview.org/2017/07/genx-focus-shifts-to-environmental-justice/
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Cape Fear Public Utility Authority. (2021). Emerging Contaminants . Retrieved May 09, 2021, from cfpua: cfpua.org/761/Emerging-Compounds
Clean Cape Fear . (n.d.). Event Flow: Timeline of Events . Retrieved April 20, 2021, from cleancapefear: cleancapefear.org/new-page-3
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GenX. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2021, from http://capefearriverwatch.org/genx/
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Medina, S. (2021, Jan. 26). Chemicals in some North Carolina drinking water may worsen COVID-19 effects . Retrieved May 08, 2021, from The Daily Tar Heell: dailytarheel.com/article/2021/01/city-water-effects
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North Carolina Coastal Federation. (2020). GenX and Emerging Industrial Contaminants. Retrieved April 29, 2021, from nccoast: nccoast.org/project/genx-and-emerging-industrial-contaminants/
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality . (n.d.). GenX Investigation. Retrieved April 25, 2021, from deq.nc: https://deq.nc.gov/news/key-issues/genx-investigation
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North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. (2020, July 20). Occupational & Environmental Epidemiology . Retrieved May 02, 2021, from NCDHHS: epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/oee/a_z/genx.html
NC PFAS Testing Network. (n.d.). Graphics & Printed Materials. Retrieved from https://ncpfastnetwork.com/printed-materials/
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North Carolina PFAS Testing Network. (2021). FAQs. Retrieved May 01, 2021, from ncpfastnetwork: https://ncpfastnetwork.com/faqs/#:~:text=The%20Environmental%20Protection%20Agency%20(EPA)%20has%20set%20a%20drinking%20water,ppt%20of%20the%20GenX%20chemical.
NC Policy Collaborator. (2019, September). Federal and State Responses to PFAS Contamination. NC Policy Collaboratory. Retrieved May 10, 2021, from https://collaboratory.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2019/09/pfas-policy-brief.pdf
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North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. (2017, September). GenX Health Information. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Retrieved May 10, 2021, from https://files.nc.gov/ncdeq/GenX/GenX%20factsheet%20FINAL%2013Sep2017.pdf
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Talton, T. (2020, Oct. 26). PFAS Levels Still High Despite Emission Cuts . Retrieved May 10, 2021, from Costal Review: https://coastalreview.org/2020/10/pfas-levels-still-high-despite-emission-cuts/#:~:text=Authority%20officials%20and%20researchers%20say,the%20facility%2C%20and%20air%20emissions.
Woolverton, P. (2020, Feb. 20). Study: GenX chemical in 70 of 84 wells tested near Chemours' Fayetteville Works plant. Retrieved May 01, 2021, from The Fayetteville Observer : https://www.fayobserver.com/story/news/politics/elections/local/2020/06/20/study-genx-chemical-in-70-of-84-wells-tested-near-chemoursrsquo-fayetteville-works-plant/41734189/
U.S. Census Bureau (2019). QuickFacts Fayetteville city, North Carolina. Retrieved May 10, 2021, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fayettevillecitynorthcarolina
U.S. Census Bureau (2019). QuickFacts Wilmington city, North Carolina. Retrieved May 10, 2021, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/wilmingtoncitynorthcarolina
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