DEQ-CFW_00020792

From: Goyt,Ju|ie [/O=EXCHANGELABS/OU=EXCHANGEADMINISTRATIVE GROUP
(FYD|BOHF2]SPDLT)/CN=REOP|ENTS/CN=75D1654D45154C2A8BO859GA2C9AF282-JAGRZY8]
Sent: 6/9/20I76:240IPM
To: Culpepper, Linda [/b=ExchanXeLabs/ou=[xchangeAdministrative Group
(FYD|8OHFZ33PDO)/cn=Redpient$cn=73d475cbae3Z4aI9687e171Idc9a79c5'|mcu|pepper]
Subject: R[: SenXfa||out: Is my water safe to drink? Wilmington Star News
Linda,
Just read this message, now that you heard [onnke'sand myinput doyou need usto8otothe Senator's office?
Julie
From: Culpepper, Linda
Sent: Friday, June U9 201711:44AK8
To: Godreau,Jessica /[e-mail]>;Grzyb,Julie /ju|ie.8rzyb@ncdenr.8ov>
Cc: Kritzer, Jamie <jam ie. kritzer@ ncdenr.gov>; Zimmerman, Jay <[e-mail]>; Brower, Connie
<connie.brovver@ncdenr.0ov>;Poupart,Jeff ^jeff.poupart@ncdenr.8ov>;Manning, Jeff ^[e-mail]>;
Munger, Bridget [e-mail]>; Sink, Maria <K4ar|[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: GenXfaUout: Is mywater safe to drink? Wilmington Star News
Sen. Lee is presenting his part of the budget at 2:30pm so we are tentatively planning to meet with him at 3:45pm in his
office (4UOUOB).
His assistant Emily Barnes will text me if the budget meeting is running way long.
filffmrm
Linda Culpepper
Deputy Director
Dlvlei000f Water Resources
North CemUneDepartment ufEmhrnnmema|Quality
1611Mail SomiopCenter
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From: Culpepper, Linda
Sent: Friday, June U9 201711:24AK8
To: Kritzer, Jamie � Godreau,]essioa ; Zimmerman, Jay
�Grzyb,]u|ie �� 8rovve�[onnie �
Poupart,]eff Manning, Jeff ; Munger, Bridget
; Sink Maria
Subject: RE: GenX fallout: Is my water safe to drink? - Wilmington Star News
I have recently emailed Emily in Sen. Lee's office asking if he has time to discuss the topic at 3:45pm this afternoon.
Linda Culpepper
Deputy Director
Dlvlei000f Water Resources
North Carolina Department uJEnvironmental Quality
1611Mail Service Center
���

From: Kritzer, Jamie
Sent: Friday, June 09, 2017 10:13 AM
To: Godrea4Jessica Culpepper, Linda Zimmerman, Jay
Grzyb Julie Brower,
Poupart,]eff Manning, Jeff Munger, Bridget
Sink, Maria
Subject: RE: GenX fallout: Is my water safe to drink? - Wilmington Star News
Jessica,
Thank you. I've made that point with the editor of the Star News this morning and we will underline that point when we
speak with the reporters this afternoon.
Maria, thanks for setting that up.
Are we all good with lining up response to the Senator as well?
Jamie Kritzer
Communications Director
N.C. Department of Environmental Quality
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y�ub��a/n8na�ub�nReco/�oLam/aa�x/aybad� edPa/Vsa,
From: Godrea4Jessica
Sent: Friday, June U9 20179:54AK4
To: Kritzer, Jamie ; Culpepper, Linda < ; Zimmerman, Jay
�Grzyb,]u|ie �� 8rovve�[onnie �
Poupart,]eff Manning, Jeff ; Munger, Bridget
; Sink Maria
Subject: RE: GenX fallout: Is my water safe to drink? - Wilmington Star News
The only thing I noticed that seemed out of step with our conversation yesterday was the phrase:
somethina that becomes exceed' gly difficult the associated cancer risk is unk'nown.
asvvedonot know ifthere isacancer risk. The phrase certainly implies that there IS a cancer risk, but that the degree is
Overall, it seemed a reasonable explanation for lay people.

Chief, Public Water Supply Section
Division of Water Resources
Department of Environmental Quality
919 707 9078 office
919 707 9100 main number
Jessica. God reauOncdenr.00v
1634 Mail Service Center
Raleigh NC 27699-1634
512 N Salisbury St, Raleigh, NC 27604
From: Kritzer, Jamie
Friday, - 0• 4: AM
To: Culpepper, Linda <linda.cul e er��ncdenr.�o�,i>; Zimmerman, Jay eia .yin n errnan$ node€ €, o >; Grzyb, Julie
<holie. rz b €ode€ €.;ov>; Brower, Connie <co€ nie.brower�ez € cde€�r.RoW>; Godreau, Jessica
Poupart, Jeff Manning, Jeff <f:rric::y>;
Munger, Bridget <bridget.niun�-,erz ncdenr, oy>; Sink, Marla <� "arlta,Sink @ncdenr. ov>
Subject: FW: GenX fallout: Is my water safe to drink? - Wilmington Star News
This story looks like a pretty decent explanation, based on our discussion yesterday.
Jamie Kritzer
Communications Director
Department of Environmental Quality
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From: Kritzer, Jamie
Sent: Friday, June 09, 2017 9:45 AM
To: Hairston, Ursula <urSUla.hairs n.�, :J p >; Holloway, Tracey S <Tracey.- Hollow .v.e, € :ta r>; Holman, Sheila
<Sheila.holrna€3` €3c€fie€3€.gov>; Kelley, Mary P < � .ir ,Kelle Gncdenr. ov>; Kritzer, Jamie far ie.k€ii:.er Snc€: enr, >;
Lance, Kathleen C <katbleen,lance@ncde€ r, oY,>; Lane, Bill F <OilLLane�v)ncdenr.„o >; Lucey, John D
Miller, Anderson «tri.rI-rfr3rr:ta.>; Mundt, Jennifer
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<lexi.r €: � 1 €€.3 € € €:: €.�v>; Sink, Marla <�'arla.Si€,31S;�S-€ c(jen .g >; Smith, Tricia <t€�icia.s€n. fth� nccJenr..g y>; Tolley, Lisa
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DEQ-CFW 00020794

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Subject: GenX fallout: Is my water safe to drink? - Wilmington Star News
tanout* is my wat%cN;r saafe to- drink,
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WILMINGTON -- A StarN11cws investigative story Wednesday that detailed a little-known foxin in f€wal wawr left
many Southeastern North Carolinians wondering what to think about the water coming out their taps.
The toxin is a commercially produced compound known as GenX, a key ingredient in Teflon, that has raised health concerns
among researchers. GenX is produced by Chemours Co. at Fayetteville Works, an Industrial site on the Cape Fear River, about
100 miles upstream from Wilmington, and a study recently round the compound in water treated by the (.ape Fear Public Utility
Authority (CFP[TA).
Unanswered questions about GenX and its effects on humans make it difficult, exports said, to recommend any one course of
action for consumers in the Cape Fear region,
Dr. Alan Ducatnian, a professor at rest Virginia University's School of'Public Health, said the chemical is new enough --
production started in 2009 -- that it Is difficult to chart a path fore and for customers and utilities.
The raw, water intakes for the Cape Fear Public Utility
I I
I itilitN Authority and the Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer AutlioritN lie just
above Lock and Dam No. I In Bladen County. Researchers sampled river water here in 2013 and round GenX, a chemical made
at the Chemours Co., about 50 miles upriver. [STARNIEWS FILE PHO,ro]
Next
"'Ne 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 drinkilig/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 Univers1tv professor who worked on the team that
discovered the chemical in the Cape Fear River and CFPUA's system. Typically, Knappe 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 Wilmington, said the EPA considers GenX an
emerging contaminant," ineanim)-, it is so new the agenev does not yet have protocols to regulate it.
Reversc 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 hike
arsenic, nitrate and microbes.
Source: EPA
"'Pcrsoually, I find that really troubling," Cahoon said. "The company (Chemours), is being allowed to conduct a really big
experiment on all us 250,000 guinea pigs, without knowing whcthcr it'll hurt us,"
Filtering contaminants
Cahoon said he first learned about Knappe's research at a conference last month.
DEQ-CFW-00020795

"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 ver-,, well." he said. "'They're very inert and pretty difficult to
remove.
One of the few water filtration methods that could filter out Genx is reverse osmosis, an expensive method not currently used at
C,FPUA`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 selcctl%re
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.
"Informed consumers can make the right choice," Cahoon said, "The problem is a lot of these water lilt -ration 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."
Am Wilmington's Tidal Creek Food Co-op, employees have noticed customers buying more packaged and reverse osmosis -
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 Leiblein, manager of Culligan Water' Wilmington, said her call volume was up 20 pereent'rhursday in i I with many
asking about filter systems that can remove GenX.
"A lot of the calls are just from our customers wanting assurance to know that they equipment that they have will remove it,"'
J -7
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
ifyou. start researching how many unregulated substances are in water, that they don't have (maximum contaminant levels), it's
just kind of the tip of the iceberg."
Maughn flagertv an(IA(Iani Magner contributed to this rel)orL
Reporter C'aminie Bellamy can be reachedat 910-343-2339 or ii),S'tanVe�vsOnhne.com
DEQ-CFW-00020796

Jamie Kritzer
Communications Director
N.C. Department of Environmental Quality
4,19-707-8602
ION—MMMOM
I'M
DEQ-CFW-00020797