State officials initiated additional enforcement actions against Chemours Wednesday after preliminary state test results detected GenX in violation of state groundwater standards in non-drinking water wells at the company’s Fayetteville Works facility.
Preliminary test results publicized today by the state Department of Environmental Quality show concentrations of GenX in wells on Chemours’ Fayetteville Works’ property in violation of state groundwater standards. The wells tested are used for environmental monitoring at the facility and are not a source of drinking water.
Based on the preliminary results, DEQ announced its plans to cite Chemours with a notice of violation. Today’s announcement comes a day after the state initiated other legal action against the company.
DEQ and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday also alerted health officials in Bladen and Cumberland counties to the preliminary test results. The state will perform initial testing for people who live near Chemours while requiring the company to produce a comprehensive testing and compliance plan.
The two state agencies are also making plans to host an information session from 6-7:30 p.m. Sept. 14 at St. Paul’s Middle School to answer peoples’ questions about the groundwater test results from the Fayetteville Works facility.
“We are taking all necessary steps to address clear violations of state rules and will launch a private well testing regimen for homeowners living near the facility, to determine if the contamination has moved beyond the Chemours facility into well water used for drinking,” said Michael Regan, secretary of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. “As is our routine when we find violations of groundwater rules on a company’s property, we are reaching out to residents who use wells as their source of drinking water.”
Preliminary Test Results from Chemours’ Wells
As part of the ongoing state investigation, DEQ collected groundwater samples from 14 groundwater monitoring wells on the Chemours property in early August. Concentrations of GenX that exceeded acceptable limits were detected in 13 of 14 industrial wells at the plant. Preliminary test results have identified other detections of flourinated compounds.
The water samples collected by DEQ in early August at the company’s industrial wells were sent to three laboratories. The preliminary results come from only one of the labs – Gel Laboratories in Charleston, S.C. State officials have not received test results from Chemours that were sent to Test America’s Colorado lab for analysis, and are awaiting final results from the EPA lab in Research Triangle Park.
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