New study confirms produce grown near Chemours plant contains high levels of PFAS

North Carolina researchers have confirmed that GenX and other PFAS have contaminated not just the water, but also the fruits and vegetables grown near the Fayetteville Works Plant. 

The goal of the study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, was to determine the extent to which homegrown produce near fluorochemical plants contributes to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure in those communities.

“It is often assumed that contaminated drinking water is the main pathway through which we are exposed to PFAS,” said Detlef Knappe, a professor at North Carolina State University and a lead investigator of the study. “An important goal of our study was to determine whether people who live in PFAS-impacted communities are also exposed to PFAS through home-grown produce.”

PFAS are a class of about 16,000 toxic and pervasive chemicals colloquially referred to as “forever chemicals” for their inability to naturally break down in the environment and to build up in the human body. Exposure to PFAS is linked to a number of adverse health effects, ranging from kidney cancer to heart disease to reproductive issues.

PFAS have been found in high levels in the well water of residents in the Fayetteville area, because of pollution from the nearby Fayetteville Works manufacturing plant. GenX is a trademarked type of PFAS developed by DuPont, the predecessor to spin-off company Chemours.

As part of the N.C. State study, researchers took 53 samples of fruits and vegetables from five gardens near the Fayetteville Works plant. They tested these samples for 43 different “forever chemicals,” including ones specifically linked to the Chemours factory. The study found that even small amounts of homegrown produce can contain concerning levels of PFAS, and children are especially vulnerable. 

The scientists compared GenX exposure from produce to water and found that:

• For children, eating just 10 blueberries from a contaminated garden is like drinking a liter of water with unsafe levels of PFAS.
• Adults can eat about 4 times more produce than kids before reaching the same level of PFAS exposure.
• Most people eat far more fruits and vegetables than these amounts, highlighting the potential risk of produce grown near chemical manufacturers.

The study corroborates past research that found PFAS in vegetables grown near the Fayetteville Works Plant. It adds to a growing body of research showing how PFAS have seeped into the air, water and soil surrounding the Chemours plant. 

Researchers suggested that airborne PFAS, travelling through the wind and rainwater from the Chemours plant, were the main source of the produce contamination. They concluded this partially because participants reported mostly using rainwater on their crops, as opposed to groundwater. The researchers found supporting evidence for the airborne contamination when they tested frozen vegetables harvested from 2013 to 2019 and observed a decreasing trend in PFAS levels over time, which aligns with when Chemours began implementing measures to reduce the plant’s air emissions. 

Residents react

Fayetteville area residents, reacting to the study on social media, were unsurprised by the results. They emphasized the presence of PFAS in the air and soil and noted the widespread impact on wildlife.

Gray’s Creek resident and community advocate Mike Watters linked the new study to PFAS contamination in his backyard soil. Waters, who lives about a mile from the plant, had previously grown vegetables in this area from 2012 to 2017. Concerned about potential contamination, he said he tested his soil and found PFAS present at a depth of two feet.

“As the year rolls down on 2024 it is hard to believe that we would still be learning more about the depth of contamination caused by our ‘Good Neighbor,’” Watters said, referring to the chemical plant. 

Gray’s Creek resident and community advocate Vickie Doug Mullins stressed how airborne PFAS pollution has wide-reaching effects on animal and plant life.

“It’s just not near the plant this mess has [gone] airborne so it affects us all,” Mullins said in a Facebook comment. “Plants, animals, bees, aka our quality of life has been affected.”

Contact Evey Weisblat at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608. This story was made possible by donations from readers like you to CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.