RALEIGH – Parents of Gray’s Creek Elementary students were notified this afternoon by Cumberland County School system officials of drinking water testing results at the school from samples taken in late October. Samples results show GenX levels of 6 parts per trillion and total PFAS levels of 53 parts per trillion, including levels of two, individual per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at 34 parts per trillion and 13 parts per trillion.
Students have been provided bottled water since the Department of Environmental Quality first sampled the school in the fall of 2017. Bottled water will continue to be provided to students, faculty and staff at the school and used in food preparation while Chemours installs a permanent replacement water system.
According to the Consent Order signed in February, Chemours must provide any public building (e.g., schools or government buildings) that qualifies with either under-sink reverse osmosis drinking water systems at each drinking fountain and sink that is used for drinking water or another effective system or equipment. Chemours now has six months to provide a remedy to Gray’s Creek Elementary School. Until that time, the school will remain on bottled water.
Gray’s Creek Elementary School was sampled two years ago on Oct. 19, 2017 for GenX. At that time, results for samples collected at Gray’s Creek showed 5 parts per trillion GenX. The recent sampling done in late October was at the request of the school system.
Alderman Road Elementary School which is located nearby was resampled in June 2019; results provided in September showed non-detection for GenX and other PFAS compounds.
For more information about the state’s GenX investigation and the signed consent order, go to: https://deq.nc.gov/news/key-issues/genx-investigation.
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