Residents of Cumberland, Bladen and Robeson counties concerned about the safety and quality of their drinking water will have an opportunity Tuesday, July 26, to ask questions of state environmental experts about the effects of forever chemicals in their life.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is hosting a community information meeting at the Crown Theatre, located at the Crown Complex at 1960 Coliseum Drive. The meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m., and doors will open for speaker registration at 5:30.
DEQ staff members are expected to share information and answer questions about the June 15 Environmental Protection Agency’s lower health advisory for GenX and other associated chemicals produced at the Chemours Fayetteville Works. Chemours, previously DuPont, is a chemical manufacturing facility located on the Cumberland/Bladen County line on N.C. 87.
Specifically, DEQ staff is expected to discuss how the lower health advisory for GenX affects private drinking water wells. The EPA lowered the health advisory for GenX to 10 parts per trillion, down from the health goal of 140 ppt established by the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services in 2018.
The DEQ is expected to have staff from its air, water and waste management divisions on hand to update attendees on the latest health issues in their respective areas. Also, officials from the state Health & Human Services will talk about the potential health effects of the various forever chemicals and how to avoid them.
Forever chemicals are used to manufacture a variety of everyday products, including food packaging, nonstick pans and firefighter foam. They are called forever chemicals because they don’t break down easily in the environment.
The EPA lowered health standards for GenX to 10 ppt means about 1,300 more private drinking water wells are eligible for whole house filtration, an expense borne by Chemours as part of a 2019 consent order issued by a Bladen County Superior Court. The consent order entered among DEQ, the Cape Fear River Watch and Chemours requires the company to abate PFAS sources and contamination at its facility to prevent further contamination of soil, groundwater, surface water and air from chemical pollutants.
Chemours announced earlier this month that it is challenging the new health advisory for GenX.
Jason Brady covers Cumberland County government for CityView TODAY. He can be reached at jbrady@cityviewnc.com.
