In the News

The Known Unknowns (Endeavors | August 6, 2019)
In 2016, a group of North Carolina researchers published evidence of high rates of PFAS in the Cape Fear River basin. While this unregulated family of chemicals is used in the production of everyday goods, its impact on human health is largely unknown.

PFAS Shows Up in Haw River, But Gets Limited Local Attention (North Carolina Health News | July 30, 2019)
On a windblown day in March, Emily Sutton wore rubber wading boots as she stood on the muddy banks of the Haw River and dipped a plastic sample bottle into the chilly, rushing water.

PFAS Battles Spark Lobbying Boom (E&E News | July 24, 2019)
Several companies that make, and in some cases use, a class of toxic chemicals found in drinking water are boosting their lobbying efforts as lawmakers home in on policies to deal with the substances.

How Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Made Their Way into Your Food (The Hill | July 14, 2019)
It’s summertime, which means the tourists are flocking to beachside ice cream stands. With their double scoop of blueberry, however, they may be getting a dose of toxic PFAS — thanks to the lax oversight of these harmful industrial chemicals entering our food supply.

PFAS Sleuths Seek ‘Forever Chemical’ Fingerprints (Bloomberg Environment | July 7, 2019)
As public concern about “forever chemicals” contamination escalates, scientists are working to better identify and track thousands of compounds that could unlock greater regulatory power and bolster plaintiffs’ ability to reap damages from polluters.

ENC Health Currents: PFAS Testing Underway In ENC (Public Radio East | July 3, 2019)
Last month, Jones County residents in Maysville found out their drinking water had been contaminated with high levels PFAS, likely from firefighting foam. This news comes two years after Wilmington learned about Gen X in the Cape Fear River.

PFAS Levels Spike In Cape Fear Water (Coastal Review Online | June 21, 2019)
The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority said Friday that the latest results from its weekly monitoring of water drawn from Cape Fear River for the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant show the highest concentration of total PFAS measured since last September.

Maysville Holds Meeting on PFAS in Well Water (Public Radio East | June 12, 2019)
The Town of Maysville held a special session Thursday to discuss the high levels of PFAS that were found in the town’s well water and how they plan to address the problem.

FDA: GenX, 14 Types of Perfluorinated Compounds Found in Produce Grown Within 10 Miles of Chemours (NC Policy Watch | June 3, 2019)
Leafy greens collected at local farmers markets near Fayetteville contained elevated levels of GenX and other perfluorinated compounds, according to a recent FDA study.

DEQ finds 20 types of PFAS in compost headed for gardens, farms and playgrounds (NC Policy Watch | May 28, 2019)
Twenty types of perfluorinated compounds, commonly known as PFAS, were detected in compost produced at the McGill facility in Sampson County, but the sources of the contamination have not been identified.

Toxic Chemical Contamination Detected in Charlotte (NC Policy Watch | May 17, 2019)
For decades Charlotte firefighters would periodically suit up and step into one of 12 gravel-lined pits at the city’s training center on Shopton Road.

Citizen Sleuths Exposed Pollution from a Century-Old Michigan Factory, with Nationwide Implications (Science | May 16, 2019)
For more than a century, a sprawling tannery here on the banks of the Rogue River churned out leather used to make some of the country’s most popular shoes.

New Study Claims 43 States Expose Millions to Dangerous Chemical in Drinking Water (CBS News | May 7, 2019)
A new report by the non-profit Environmental Working Group and Northeastern University finds people in nearly every state in the country are exposed to unhealthy drinking water.

Scientists Dig Into Hard Questions About The Fluorinated Pollutants Known As PFAS (NPR | April 22, 2019)
Scientists are ramping up research on the possible health effects of a large group of common but little-understood chemicals used in water-resistant clothing, stain-resistant furniture, nonstick cookware and many other consumer products.

Scientists Update Lawmakers on PFAS Research, Including Presence of Compounds in Food (NC Policy Watch | April 10, 2019)
In the freezer at Lee Ferguson’s lab at Duke University, there is an Antarctic ice core with layers of the Earth’s atmospheric history trapped inside.

Researchers Find Toxic Chemicals in North Carolina Wildlife (Star News | April 9, 2019)
Researchers at North Carolina State University say they found high levels of toxic chemicals known as PFAS in alligators and striped bass in the Wilmington area.

Should You Be Concerned About PFAS Chemicals? (Consumer Reports | April 8, 2019)
A group of substances known as PFAS chemicals are behind a variety of everyday conveniences that make our lives a little bit easier.

The hunt is on for GenX chemicals in people (C&EN | April 7, 2019)
On a chilly day in November 2017, Beth Markesino sat in the county health department. She pushed up the sleeve of her sweater and extended her arm. A medical technician drew her blood.

NC Legislature Considering PFAS Ban In Firefighting Foam (WHQR | April 4, 2019)
A bill filed this week in the North Carolina legislature could impact the water quality of the Cape Fear River. House Bill 560 would ban PFAS and other perfluorinated compounds from the firefighting foams used near airports and in industrial areas around the state. It has co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle.

PFAS Costs Europe More Than €50 Billion a Year in Health Problems (Quartz | March 19, 2019)
Perfluorinated chemicals, or PFAS (which stands for “perfluoroalkyl substances”), are a little-known class of chemicals that have sparked one of the biggest drinking-water contamination crises in recent decades.

Pentagon Pushes for Weaker Standards on Chemicals Contaminating Drinking Water (New York Times | March 14, 2019)
The Pentagon is pushing the Trump administration to adopt a weaker standard for groundwater pollution caused by chemicals that have commonly been used at military bases.

US Government Investigating Food Supply for PFAS Contamination (Chemical and Engineering News | March 7, 2019)
The US government is broadening its focus on toxic fluorocarbon contamination beyond industrial sites and military bases to include the nation’s food supply.

EPA Says It Plans to Limit Toxic PFAS Chemicals, But Not Soon Enough for Critics (NPR | February 14, 2019)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it will begin the process this year of setting limits on two man-made chemicals that are linked to cancer and other illnesses, and are found widely in drinking water and soil.

Worrisome Nonstick Chemicals are Common in U.S. Drinking Water, Federal Study Suggests (Science | February 8, 2019)
In recent weeks, the leadership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C., has been dithering on whether to protect drinking water from unregulated industrial chemicals known as PFAS.

Tainted Water: The Scientists Tracing Thousands of Fluorinated Chemicals in Our Environment (Nature | February 6, 2019)
Researchers are struggling to assess the dangers of nondegradable compounds used in clothes, foams and food wrappings.

Not a Problem You Can Run Away From: Communities Confront the Threat of Unregulated Chemicals in Their Drinking Water (Washington Times | January 2, 2019)
The day this small town told its residents to stop drinking the water, life on Glendale Boulevard turned from quiet to alarming.

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