DEQ-CFW_00078190

Michael S. Regan, Secretary
Release: FdMEDIATE Contact: Jamie Kritzer; Chris Mackey
Date: June 13, 2017 Phone: [phone]
LEIGH — The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality is leading a state investigation into reports of an
unregulated chemical in the Cape Fear River.
Staff in DEQ and the state Department of Health and Human Services are investigating the reported presence of
a compound known as GenX and the company, Chemours, that produces the chemical for industrial processes at
its facility in Fayetteville.
State environmental regulators will start collecting water samples from the Cape Fear River this week and will
send those to the nation's only laboratory capable of detecting GenX in water. After meeting with DEQ staff this
week, Chemours agreed to pay for the water collection and testing.
"We are seeking answers and solutions to a problem that has prompted understandable concern among people
who live and work in Wilmington and the lower Cape Fear region," said Michael Regan, secretary of the state
Department of Environmental Quality. "We are taking a hard look at the quality of the region's source of
drinking water and pushing the company to find ways to limit how much of this chemical makes its way to the
river."
Mandy Cohen, the secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, said XXXX
Leadership in DEQ have reached out to staff with the Environmental Protection Agency seeking information
about GenX. The EPA, which is the sole agency responsible for establishing drinking water standards, is working
to establish guidance on GenX that North Carolina and other states can use to develop regulations for the
chemical compound.
The EPA has not set U.S. regulatory guideline levels for GenX. However, as part of the European chemical
registration, a 2-year chronic toxicity and cancer study with rats was performed. They reported a Derived No
Effect Level of 0.01 mgkg bw/day. Based on U.S. risk assessment calculations, this corresponds to a
concentration in drinking water of 70,909 ng/L. of GenX- more than 100 times greater than the mean value of 631
ngiL detected in the Cape Fear River in 2013-2014.
More recent data will be available for analysis following the water sampling and testing underway this week.
DEQ staff are pushing Chemours officials to limit the amount of GenX making its way into the river. A
Chemours official told state environmental regulators this week that officials with the company were working to
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DEQ-CFW 00078190

assess waste streams containing GenX and determine whetherthe company can reduce the amount of GenX
discharged to the river under current production levels.
DEQ and DHHS leadership plan to participate in a meeting with local officials on Thursday to get answers from
Chemours.
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1601 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1601 RSS feed: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/opa/news-releases-
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An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
DEQ-CFW 00078191