DEQ-CFW_00083308

From: HoU,Eric ][/O=EXCHANGELABS/OU=EXCHANG[ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP
(FYD|BOHF2]SPDLT)/CN=REOP|ENTS/CN=]4AF852Z79554]118F577AB3B45]2IO9'BHOLU
Sent: 8/3I/I0I73:59:58PW1
To: Kritzer, Jamie [/o=ExchangeLabs/ou=ExzhanXeAdministrative Group
(FYD|8OHFZ33PDO)/cn=Redpient$cn=cee93c49d01445a3b541bb3Z7dcdc84O-jbkritzer]
Subject: FVV:Star-News: BREAKING: Chemours'urged'tostop discharging I more chemicals
Fnmrn: Ho|[ Eric
Sent: Thursday, August 3l,JO1711:54AK4
To: HoU,Eric ]<Eric.HoU0Dnc.gov>
Subject: Star -News: BREAKING: Chemours'urged' to stop discharging 2 more chemicals
Star -News. BREAKING,, Chemours Vged'to sto;3 dischanging 2 more chemicals
By Vaughn Hagerty StarNews Correspondent
State regulators asked the company, which stopped re|easingGerX, this week after areport from EPA
RALE|GH —State regulators have asked Chemouoto stop discharging two substances that continue to be found at high
levels in the Cape Fear River even after the company stopped emitting wastewater containing GenX.
"Our top priority is to protect the state's citizens," said Michael Regan, secretary of the N.C. Department of
Environmenta|Dua|ky."Und|w/eknowmoreaboutthehea|theffectsofthesebyproducts,thecompanyneedstostop
discharging them. We're also repeating our demand that Chemours give us information about all other chemicals in its
waste stream."
The move followed a meeting on Monday with scientists from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who told
re8u|ators"thattheyhaveidentihedtvvocompoundstheyarecaUin8NahonbypruductslandZinChemouns'vvaste
stream and that estimated concentrations of these compounds are not decreasing," according to the statement.
EPAa|susaidha|uodetectedthneeso-caUed"nove|"substancesthatvverediscoveredaspartufthesameZO13-14
research project where GenX was found in the Cape Fear and Wilmington's drinking water system. Unlike the Nafion
byproducts, levels of those have "dropped significantly," according to the statement.
On Tuesday, DEQ wrote to Chemours "urging the company to stop the release of the two Nafion-like compounds. DEQ
also repeated its demand for Chemours to provide the state agency with a complete inventory, sampling data and test
results for all chemicals included in the company's waste stream."
The StarNews first reported that GenX was in the river and the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority system in June. That
triggered awave ofpressure from local officials and residents, prompting [hemourstoagree tocease discharging
wastewater containing GenX.
"DBQ is now asking Chemours to stop discharge of the Nafion byproducts, which preliminary results indicate come from
the company's wastewater but are unchanged since the GenX discharge ended."
The substances raising concerns are similar in structure to a product made by[hemoumcalled Nafion. Those
compounds were found in the Cape Fear as early as 2012 in a separate study that included EPA scientists Mark Strynar

There islittle tonoinformation about the potential health effects ofthese compounds. But one factor that may be
raising concern is the number of carbon atoms in the molecules. For example, GenX has six carbon atoms; the Nafion'
|ikecompoundshaveseven.
Although not a definitive measure, a greater number of carbon atoms in certain fluorochemicals can indicate greater
potential for toxicity.
"The number ufatoms definitely appears to contribute to potential health risks," Jamie DeWitt, a professor in the
pharmacology and toxicology department at East Carolina Univeoky, said in an interview earlier this month. "We think
that the number of carbons is related to how well these compounds fit into certain receptors in our bodies.
"it seems like the longer chain compounds with a carboxylic acid fit into this receptor better than the shorter chain
compounds and when it is bound, certain types of health risks can increase, especially those associated with the liver."
Even so, DeWitt said, the lack ofinformation about such substances makes any hea|dh'hskeva|uation essentially an
educated guess.
"Toxoo|o8ica|k\|can tell you almost nothing about these compounds," she said. "I can guess based on their size/shape,
buttherearenoeasi|yobtainab|edataandcertain|ynothin8pub|ishedinthepeepreviexved|iterature."
For its part, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has established a drinking water "health goal"
for GenX of 140 parts per trillion (ppt), in part relying on health data. No similar data for the Nafion byproducts or the
three "novel" substances is available, "so DHHS is unable to establish a health goal for them at this time. DHHS
reiterated its health guidance that the public can continue to drink the water, based on ongoing testing for GenX and
othercompoundsforxvhichhea|thinformationisavai|ab|e,"accordin8toThuoday's statement.
"I know how frustrating it is to all of us that we have very little scientific information about these unregulated, emerging
compounds," said DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen. "We continue to work with the Environmental Protection Agency, the
[enters for Disease Control and Prevention and other scientists to get more information as quickly as poeib|e."
Chemours makes Nafion in the same manufacturing area at its Fayetteville Works plant that company officials have said
produces GenX as an unintended byproduct. It was that byproduct that wound up in the [ape Fear River, a discharge the
company has said ceased inJune. The company also makes GenX commercially in a separate facility atthe Fayetteville
Works, but wastewater from that process is captured and incinerated off -site.
Nafionhas been produced atplant since l9OO according tocompany documents. Developed inthe 196OsbyWalther
Grotat DuPont, Nafion has proven to be remarkably useful, especially in fuel cells. For example, it was used to help
power a number of NASA spacecraft. Other potential applications range from medical components and semiconductors
to water purification technologies such as reverse osmosis and desalination. While not as well-known as Teflon, Nafion
is a major product line for Chemours, a company DuPont created from parts of itself in 2015.
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