DEQ-CFW_00006850

Michael S. Regan, Secretary
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Release: FdMEDIATE Contact: Jamie Kritzer
Date: Aug. 30, 2017 Phone: [phone]
State demands company stop additional discharges of compounds
DEQ also urges Chemours provide complete inventory of waste stream
RALEIGH — As part of its ongoing investigation, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality today issued a letter
demanding Chemours stop discharging two additional unregulated compounds at its Fayetteville facility and again called
on the company to provide the state with a complete inventory of all the compounds included in its waste stream.
DEQ's letter requests that Chemours stop the release of Nafion byproducts I and 2, two compounds that were recently
identified by the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) i I n the company's waste stream and i I s a byproduct of Chemour's
Nafion manufacturing process. The Nafion process is discussed in the company's wastewater discharge permit application,
but the permit does not specify the release of these two byproducts into the company's waste stream. The EPA reported to
the DEQ and DHHS teams that limited scientific information is available for these two byproducts and that their health
impact has not been studied.
"Our No. I priority is to protect the state's citizens," said Michael Regan, secretary of the N.C. Department of
Environmental Quality. "We've learned from the EPA earlier this week that the two compounds which they label as Nafion
byproducts have remained elevated and don't show signs of dropping. Until we know more about the health impacts from
the two Nafion byproducts, we are asking the company to stop discharging these compounds immediately and provide the
state with information about all other unregulated compounds in its waste stream."
DEQ will review all of the information the state agency has requested as it considers Chemours' application for any new
wastewater discharge permit. DEQ and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services have directed all available
resources to investigate the presence of GenX and other compounds in the Cape Fear River.
1 know how frustrating it is to all of us that we have very little scientific Information about these unregulated, emerging
compounds," said Mandy Cohen, secretary ofthe N.C. Department of l-lealth and Human Services. continue to work -
with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers foi- Disease Control and Prevention and other scientists to get more
information as quickly as possible.';
At the state agency's request, officials with the EPA analyzed water samples collected from the Cape Fear River over a six -
week period for GenX and the other perfluorinated compounds. The EPA discussed its initial test results with DEQ and
DHHS officials this week. Those results show samples for raw water collected at the Chemours wastewater outfall and
finished drinking water the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority's Sweeney plant in Wilmington.
The EPA's analysis found that Nafion byproducts I and 2 are elevated and have not shown any consistent trends from
weeks I through 6. In addition, the EPA's initial results included three other perfluormated compounds. The EPA's
analysis shows that the levels of these compounds have dropped significantly between weeks I and 6 of testing similar to
the way concentrations of GenX fell after the company stopped discharging GenX. State and federal officials say the three
perfluormated compounds probably dropped because they were captured along with the GenX wastewater when the GenX
was diverted away from the river and into holding tanks for offsite incineration.
The EPA informed state officials that it is continuing to work on a comprehensive report that will include concentrations of
other, non-GenX compounds at multiple sampling locations over a seven -week period.
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DEQ-CFW-00006850

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1601 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1601 RSS feed: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/opa/news-releases-
rss
Twitter: http://twitter.com/NCDENR
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
DEQ-CFW 00006851