DEQ-CFW_00013221

From: Brower, Connie [/O=EXCHANGELABS/OU=EXCHANG[ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP
(FYD|BOHF2]SPDLT)/CN=REOP|ENTS/CN=7EE8DB84D95G431C9A1F78IF5597BA62-CUBROVV[R]
Sent: 6/9/20I76:4453PM
To: Kritzer, Jamie [/o=ExchangeLabs/ou=ExzhanXeAdministrative Group
(FYD|8OHFZ33PDO)/cn=Redpient$cn=cee93c49d01445a3b541bb3Z7dcdc84O-jbkritzer];K8unXer,BridXet
[/o=ExchangeLabs/ou=ExchangeAdministrative Group
(FYD|8OHFZ33PDO)/cn=Redpient$cn=c54e1f65Ocea49958a5aba689c2O4f6I-bcmunXer];SinkMar|a
[/o=ExchangeLabs/ou=ExchangeAdministrative Group
(FYD|8OHFZ33PDO)/cn=Redpient$cn=14436cd[33f147acad6%db9cb7dcfQIb'Mar|a.Sink];Cu|pepper,Linda
[/o=ExchangeLabs/ou=ExchangpAdministrative Group
(FYD|BOHF2]SPDQ]/cn=Redpient$cn=7]d475cbae324a29687el7l1dc9a79c5-|mcu|pppper];Goyb`Julie
[/o=ExchangeLabs/ou=ExchangpAdministrative Group
(FYD|BOHF2]SPDQ]/cn=Redpient$cn=75dl654d45154c2abb08596a2c9atZ8Z-jaDoyb]
Subject: FVV: GenXfa||nut: Is mywater safe todrink? Wilmington Star News
Sent: Friday, June U9 201710:09AM
To: 'souther|and.e|izabeth@epa.8ov'«uouther|and.e|izabeth@epa.8ov>
Subject: GenX fallout: Is my water safe to drink? - Wilmington Star News
The basic story - attached. (there are other versions)
Subject: GenX fallout: Is my water safe to drink? - Wilmington Star News
UC31A fallOm"t Is my w a--- t er sa%fe tuo dn"Ink?
—A3tarNovv investigative story Wednesday that dottilledalittle-known twdmimlocal drimki��g �-vmtcrleft
many Southeastern North Carolinians wondering what mthink about the water c out their taps.
The toxin ioacommercially produced compound known oc{}ou}< ukc-� gredient isTeflon, that has raised health concerns
among researchers. (]on%ioproduced by[homoor Co, o1Fayetteville Works, ooindustrial site outhe Cape Fear River, about
100 miles upsfiream from Wilmington, and a study recently found the compound in water treated by the Cape Fear Public Utilltv
Authority(CF9lIA).
-Unanswered questions about GcnX and its effects on bumans make it difficult, experts said, to recommend any one course of
action for consumers iathe Cape Fear region.
Dr. /\|ouDooaUnun, aprofessor a(VVcu(Virginia Lnivcruihr`u School oFPublic Health, said the chemical innew enough --
production started in 2009 -- that it is difficult to chart a path forward for customers and utilities
The ravv water intakes for the Cape Fear Public UtilitA, Authon'tv and the Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authon'tv lie iust
above Lock and Dam No, \in8|udouCounh/. Researchers sampled river water here in2O13and found GooX,uchemical zoudc
dthe ChomouruCo.,about 50miles upriver. [STADN2WS FILE PHOTO]
0on1
OEQ-CFVV_00013221

"'We have so little data," Ducatman wrote In an email. "In the absence of data, it is easy to worry, but hard to recommend
draconian measures. I would replace the drinking/cooking water, and use the municipal or well water for bathing or cleaning."
Quantifying the risks GenX is difficult, said Detlef Knappe, a N.C. State University professor -,,,,Iio worked on the team that
discovered the chemical in the Cape Fear River and CFPUA`s system. Typically, Kiiappe added, the risk for compounds is
calculated for people who have been exposed over the course of 70 years -- something that becomes exceedingly difficult if the
associated cancer risk is unknown.
Larry Cahoon, a professor of biology at the University of North Carolina AA,'ilmington, said G the EPA considers cnX an
emerging I I I itI c ., ng contaminant," 's so new the agency does not yet have protocols to regulate it.
Reverse osmosis: A water filtration process in which pressurized water is driven through a membrane. The small pores of the
membrane prevent molecules any larger than the pores from getting through, The EPA has identified reverse osmosis as an
effective way to filter out uranium, radium, gross alpha and beta particles and photon emitters, as well as contaminants like
arsenic, nitrate and microbes.
Source: EPA
"Personally I find that really troubling," Cahoon said. "The company (Cheniours) is being allowed to conduct a really big
experiment on all us 250,000 guinea pigs, without knowing whether iffl hurt us."
Filtering contaminants
Cahoon said he first learned about Knappe's research at a conference last month.
"The thing I found eye-opening was his finding that the water treatment processes -- even here in Wilmington where we do a
really good job -- unfortunately doesn't get these compounds out very well he said. "Thev`rc very inert and pretty difficult to
In
remove.
One off the few water filtration methods that could filter out Gerix is reverse osmosis, an expensive method not currently used at
CFPUA`s Sweeney Water Treatment Plant on the Cape Fear River.
"It's a kind of filter system, but it operates on a molecular level," Cahoon said. "Reverse osmosis basically uses a very selective
membrane that really only allows water molecules, which are very small, to go through it and it uses water pressure that forces
the water through."
Even the cheapest industrial -scale reverse osmosis systems cost tens of thousands of dollars for a single unit. A water treatment
plant the size of Sweeney could require dozens of units. Cahoon said only a few small-scale water operations in the region use
reverse osmosis', such as Bald [lead Island, which uses it to clean wastewater.
`,Thev, have a small enough volume going through that they can do that and it takes everything out," he said. "And again, it's
expensive, but they can afford it,"
In -home solutions?
One type of consumer who can afford reverse osmosis is the homeowner.
Home reverse -osmosis systems can be bought for a couple hundred dollars and are highly effective if used properly. But
Cahoon cautioned that people should not rush out and buy a system without doing thorough research. Often, a homeowner will
buy a reverse -osmosis system without understanding how to operate and maintain it; that could result in the system failing
without the homeowners realizing it.
DEQ-CFW-00013222

"Informed consumers can make the right choice," Cahoon said. "The problem is a lot of these water filtration systems, the
technical aspects of them are above most folks' understanding. You can be sold a whole lot of stuff without knowing how it's
operating."
At Wilmington's Tidal Creek Food Co-op, employees have noticed customers buying more packaged and reverse osmosis -
I filtered water.
"Our water sales have increased -- I didn't know why at first," said grocery manager Eric Edwards, I guess I thought maybe it
was something to do with the weather, but even today when it's 60 degrees people are still buying water."
Jacqueline Lciblem, manager or Culligan Water in Wilmington, said her call volume was up 20 percent Thursday, with many
asking about filter systems that can remove GcnX.
"A lot or the calls are just from our customers wanting assurance to know that they equipment that they have will remove it,"
she said. I think a lot of people are definitely becoming aware that there's a lot of different chemicals that aren't regulated. And
if you start researching how many unregulated substances are in water. that the), don't have (maximum contaminant levels), it's
just kind of thy; tip of the iceberg."
Vaughn Ra,gerty and Adam 11'agner contributed to dais report.
Rej-)orter Canimie Bellamy can be reacheclat 910-343-2339 or arNewsOnhnexom.
Jamie Kritzer
Communications Director
N.C. Department of Environmental Quality
a19-707-8602
OU011118
....... .. ... .
a
M
,,.,,, PO e R
V
DEQ-CFW-00013223