HomeMy WebLinkAboutDEQ-CFW_00073008Sadosky, Rebecca
From: Eric Hatcher <eric.hatcher@cfpua.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2017 1:21 PM
To: Sadosky, Rebecca
Subject: Fwd: Article
FYI
From: Beth Eckert
Sent: Wednesday, June 7, 2017 12:40:30 PM
To: Eric Hatcher; Elizabeth Severt
Subject: Fwd: Article
Beth Eckert
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From: William Roy <William.Roy@cfpua.org>
Date: June 7, 2017 at 12:39:29 PM EDT
To: Beth Eckert <Beth.Eckert@cfpua.org>, Jill Deaney <JiII.Deanev@cfpua.org>
Subject: Article
You are probably already aware, but this will probably be in tomorrow's paper.
Toxin taints CFPUA drinking water
Wednesday
Posted at 10:31 AM Updated at 11:17 AM
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Stories from Headlines Network
Utility can't filter out chemical produced upriver at Fayetteville plant
By Vaughn Hagerty StarNews Correspondent
WILMINGTON -- A chemical replacement for a key ingredient in Teflon linked to cancer and a host
of other ailments has been found in the drinking water system of the Cape Fear Public Utility
Authority (CFPUA), which cannot filter it.
Known commercially as GenX, the contaminating compound is made by the Chemours Co. at
Fayetteville Works, a 2,150-acre industrial site straddling the Cumberland-Bladen county line along
the Cape Fear River, about 100 miles upstream from Wilmington.
Other water systems that tap the Cape Fear, including some that serve portions of Brunswick and
Pender counties, likely have GenX present as well -- though only CFPUA has been tested.
DEQ-CFW 00073008
"My estimate is that about 250,000 people are affected in the three counties," said Detlef Knappe, a
professor at N.C. State University and one of the researchers who traced the toxin from Fayetteville
to Wilmington.
Chemours and DuPont, which formed Chemours in 2015 from business units including the GenX
manufacturer, have produced GenX since 2009. That was four years after DuPont agreed to phase
out a chemical called C8 and paid a $16.5 million U.S. EPA fine and settlement for failing to release
studies showing C8 may cause health problems. In February, the companies settled a class-action
lawsuit involving C8 water contamination in the mid -Ohio Valley for $670.7 million.
In 2012, a research team detected GenX in the Cape Fear downriver from Fayetteville Works. Other
teams found it again in 2013-14 and as recently as last December. Results of river water samples
drawn last month are pending. Upriver from Fayetteville Works, none was found.
In a statement provided this week, Chemours officials said they are aware of the studies and that
"additional water emissions abatement technology" was added to the Fayetteville Works plant in
November 2013. That installation occurred more than three years prior to the latest confirmed
discovery of GenX in the Cape Fear downstream from the plant. The company did not provide
details on the abatement technology.
"Chemours is aware of the research reports on the Cape Fear River Watershed sampling,
done between 2012 and December 2013. Additional water emissions abatement technology
was completed and added to our Fayetteville operations site in November, 2013. Our
polymerization processing aid, sometimes referred to as GenX, has been well characterized
and undergone extensive safety evaluations. In addition, regulatory agencies required
substantial data to be developed on the alternative chemistries that have been introduced.
This data shows that the polymerization processing aid offers a favorable toxicological
profile and very rapid bioelimination, combined with a manufacturing control system to
minimize the potential for environmental releases and resulting exposures. Chemours
continues to work collaboratively with all state and federal regulatory agencies, and we are
committed to reducing our environmental footprint and minimizing any potential risks to our
employees and the communities in which we operate."
-- Chemours statement on GenX
Key terms
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs): Also known as fluorochemicals, this group of man-
made compounds, including GenX and C8/PFOA, has been used for decades in a wide range of
industrial processes and consumer products -- including Teflon, Scotchgard and some cosmetics.
That ubiquity, along with the substances' tendency to resist decomposition in the environment and
elimination from the body, has sparked health concerns.
C8/PFOA: PFOA stands for perfluorooctanoic acid. Commonly called C8 because it has eight
carbon atoms, PFOA was used in the manufacture of many products and is most commonly
associated with DuPont's Teflon.
DEQ-CFW 00073009
GenX: The product introduced by DuPont to replace PFOA. DuPont began offering GenX to its
customers in 2009, after being granted a consent order from the EPA. The company describes
GenX as being easier for humans to eliminate than PFOA and with a "favorable toxicological profile,"
a term that describes its toxicity and adverse health effects.
Parts -per -billion: Often described as micrograms per liter, one part per billion is equivalent to less
than teaspoon of water in an Olympic -size swimming pool.
Health advisory: According to the EPA, "health advisories provide information on contaminants that
can cause human health effects and are known or anticipated to occur in drinking water. EPA's
health advisories are non -enforceable and non -regulatory and provide technical information to states
agencies and other public health officials on health effects, analytical methodologies, and treatment
technologies associated with drinking water contamination."
The Chemours Co.: Firm formed in 2015 from DuPont's "Performance Chemicals" division.
Chemours is the official owner of the Fayetteville Works site, where GenX is made.
Fayetteville Works: A 2,150-acre manufacturing site along the Cape Fear River on the Bladen-
Cumberland county line. Three companies have operations there -- Chemours, DuPont and Kuraray
America.
The 2013-14 tests included sampling at various points in the water cleaning process at CFPUA's
Sweeney Water Treatment Plant in Wilmington. At each step, researchers found GenX, along with a
number of substances related to C8 and GenX but about which scientists know little aside from
chemical structure. In some cases, these "novel" substances were seen at concentrations far
exceeding that observed for GenX.
They continued to find GenX and the "novel" substances at the end of the treatment line, where
freshly treated drinking water enters pipes feeding faucets throughout New Hanover County.
"Basically, there is no change in concentration as you go from raw to the finished water," said
Knappe, who teaches in the department of civil, construction and environmental engineering at N.C.
State and was one the 2013-14 researchers. "I'd be very surprised if something major has changed
between December and now."
Knappe said CFPUA was the only water system tested, but he expected GenX also would be
present in the Northwest Water Treatment in Brunswick and Pender County systems that receive
water from the Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority.
`Trying to deal with it'
Frank Styers, chief operations officer of CFPUA, last week said the utility is aware of the most recent
study and its findings.
"We think these type of studies are important and often lead to better regulation at the state and
federal level," he said. "Our drinking water continues to meet all state and federal drinking water
standards. We would support proper regulation to improve water quality in the river or prevent
compounds such as this from being discharged in the river."
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The Cape Fear River accounts for about 80 percent of the water treated and distributed by CFPUA,
Styers said. The remainder comes from groundwater. The utility has three systems that operate
independently but can be combined when needed, such as in an emergency. The largest area is
served by river water passing through the Sweeney plant and includes all of Wilmington, Monkey
Junction, Wrightsboro, portions of Ogden and Flemington, a small community just off U.S. 421.
GenX has not been found in groundwater.
About 200,000 people rely on CFPUA for drinking water.
Officials at the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), charged with regulating
pollutants released by manufacturers such as Chemours, last week said the agency has seen the
studies and plans to meet with Knappe this month before deciding how to proceed.
"Obviously, we need to look into it ourselves," said Julie Grzyb, the department's supervisor for
complex permitting. "Unfortunately, with these unregulated contaminants, we have one hitting us
after another and we're trying to deal with it."
The EPA, in response to emailed questions, wrote: "In its review of the GenX premanufacture
submission (for approval to make it), EPA determined that the chemical could be commercialized if
there were no releases to water."
The spokeswoman said the EPA would "check on this" when it was pointed out that the studies
showed GenX was found in both the Cape Fear and CFPUA water. No response had been received
by Wednesday.
Chemours, in its statement, wrote that it "is aware of the research reports on the Cape Fear River
watershed sampling done between 2012 and December 2013. Additional water emissions
abatement technology was completed and added to our Fayetteville operations site in November
2013.
"Our polymerization processing aid, sometimes referred to as GenX, has been well characterized
and undergone extensive safety evaluations," the statement continued. "In addition, regulatory
agencies required substantial data to be developed on the alternative chemistries that have been
introduced. This data shows that the polymerization processing aid offers a favorable toxicological
profile and very rapid bioelimination, combined with a manufacturing control system to minimize the
potential for environmental releases and resulting exposures.
"Chemours continues to work collaboratively with all state and federal regulatory agencies, and we
are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and minimizing any potential risks to our
employees and the communities in which we operate."
No standards for GenX
Research has linked C8, the chemical GenX replaced, to risks for kidney and testicular cancer, liver
damage and a number of other potentially serious health problems. Similar data for GenX is scarce,
but the little that exists has some researchers concerned it may pose at least some of the same
problems.
DEQ-CFW 00073011
I drink the water," Styers said. "I think that determination (regarding health risks) would better be
made by state and federal regulators. These constituents (such as GenX) are not regulated. The
EPA does have a process for evaluating emerging contaminants that is effective."
A fundamental challenge facing regulators is that no standards exist to set thresholds at which
concentrations of GenX in drinking water are safe -- mainly because the chemical is relatively new
and few studies on health effects are available.
EPA has established what it calls a "lifetime health advisory" for C8 in drinking water of 70 parts
per trillion. The advisory is chiefly informational and not legally enforceable. C8 is also known
generically as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
The average concentration of GenX measured at CFPUA's water intake on the Cape Fear in 2013-
14 was 631 parts per trillion -- nine times the EPA advisory level for C8. Even so, that consideration
would not trigger action on the part of state or federal regulators.
"The problem with these situations is these chemicals are emerging contaminants. We know they're
in the water. We don't always know at what levels they are problematic or unsafe," said Connie
Brower, an industrial hygiene consultant at NCDEQ's water resources division. "There are very few
studies on the toxicity of the chemical and very little to go on to help us understand what level would
be problematic."
State regulation of substances such as GenX typically means following the lead of EPA, Brower
said. Standards for substances such as GenX take several years to establish. So for now, at least,
there appears to be essentially no lead to follow.
"EPA has conducted monitoring in the Cape Fear River Watershed for perfluorinated compounds (a
term for a large group of chemicals that includes C8 and GenX)," the EPA spokeswoman who
provided responses wrote. "At this time, EPA Region 4 (which includes North Carolina) cannot
advise on GenX compounds since the EPA does not have a drinking water advisory for these
compounds."
`Nobody would know'
The lack of standards also means that the contamination from GenX and the "novel" substances in
the CFPUA system and the Cape Fear likely would have gone undetected for some time if the team
that included Knappe had not tested the water.
"There is essentially no literature on this ether compound (GenX) or on the other ether compounds,"
Knappe said.
Commercial labs in the United States currently are unable to test for GenX, Knappe said, so CFPUA
cannot monitor the system's water for GenX on its own.
"There's no obligation (for Chemours) to inform a utility like Wilmington and tell them, `You may find
this new chemical in your water,' " Knappe said. "So since this chemical is new and isn't regulated, it
isn't communicated to a public utility that the upstream discharge may contain this chemical. Without
our work, basically nobody would know that this chemical is actually in the water."
DEQ-CFW 00073012
Reverse osmosis -- including as part of a household water -filtration system — might be effective at
filtering GenX and the other compounds from the water, Knappe said. But for a municipal system
such as CFPUA, such a step would cost millions of dollars to install and maintain and take years to
accomplish. Instead, he insisted, Chemours should address the problem itself.
"I think the question that really should be asked is: Why should any utility have to deal with this in the
first place? No drinking water provider should have to deal with this kind of a challenge if it can be
dealt with at the source," Knappe said.
`Suspected human carcinogen'
To evaluate whether GenX is a safe alternative to C8, regulators consider a number of factors,
including: the pace at which the body rids itself of the substance, the sorts of harm may it cause and
how quickly it degrades in the environment.
On elimination from the body, researchers appear to agree with Chemours' contention that, in
general, humans get rid of GenX much more quickly -- 3.5 years for C8 versus days for GenX.
Ailments potentially linked to C8 include kidney and testicular cancer, harm to fetuses and pregnant
women, liver damage, a digestive tract inflammation called ulcerative cholitis and high cholesterol.
Researchers said they are less certain about the health safety of GenX -- in large part because the
few studies available seem to show it may contribute to some of the same issues tied to C8.
"GenX is indeed eliminated faster than C8/PFOA in rats and mice. However, human evidence is
missing so we do not know if this will still hold," said Xindi Hu, a doctoral student at Harvard
University Chan School and Environmental Science and Engineering and lead author of a major
study on fluorochemicals in drinking water. "In terms of toxicity, the evidence of GenX is very
scarce."
A study by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands, where
Chemours has a plant in Dordecht, analyzed the available studies and concluded that "classification
as a Category 2 carcinogen (a suspected human carcinogen) is justified " for GenX.
The last consideration -- persistence in the environment -- has been a major point of concern about
C8 and other fluorochemicals, which tend to resist breaking down. While GenX is likely to persist in
the environment like C8, N.C. State's Knappe said that, unlike C8, GenX likely would be flushed
fairly quickly from the Cape Fear and affected water systems once it no longer gets into the river
from the Fayetteville Works.
The EPA, in a 2009 document giving the go-ahead for DuPont and Chemours to manufacture GenX,
expressed concerns about its safety, noting that it appeared to exhibit a number of the same health
and environmental risks as C8 and similar compounds.
Teflon and pizza boxes
C8 and GenX belong to a large group of man-made chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFASs). They also are referred to collectively as fluorochemicals. Used since at least
the 1950s, fluorochemicals have proven to be invaluable in a variety of manufacturing processes.
DEQ-CFW 00073013
They're used to make products ranging from Teflon and Scotchgard to some popcorn bags and
pizza boxes, as well as firefighting foams and electronic components.
The extensive use, coupled with the tendency of most fluorochemicals to persist in the environment,
also has resulted in widespread dispersion, including in the bodies of most humans. One study
concluded that more than 98 percent of Americans had some form of fluorochemical in their
bloodstreams.
Knappe acknowledged that many people value the products fluorochemicals make possible, but he
rejected the notion that health risks that result are a price worth paying for the benefits society
derives.
"I would completely disagree with that because there's not a direct link between the convenience of
a nonstick pan and having this chemical in the water," he said. "The more direct connection is how
much profit is the company making in the process. If the fluorochemical manufacturer would spend a
very small amount of their budget on treating their wastewater better, the same benefit could be
derived from this chemical, GenX, without having the additional adverse health risks."
Contact the Metro desk at 910-343-2384 or Breakingnews(aD-StarNewsOnline.com.
William Roy
Environmental Compliance Manager
Cape Fear Public Utility Authority
Office: 910.332.6423
Cell: 910.470.7858
DEQ-CFW 00073014