WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) -
The Chemours Company said in a news release Tuesday that it plans to remove all wastewater containing an unregulated toxin at its manufacturing plant in Fayetteville beginning Wednesday.
According to the release, Chemours "will capture, remove, and safely dispose of wastewater that contains the byproduct GenX generated from fluoromonomers production at its manufacturing plant in Fayetteville."
Beginning in 1980, GenX, an unregulated toxin, was an unintended byproduct discharged into the Cape Fear River at Chemours' vinyl plant in Fayetteville. Chemours officials said they don't emit any GenX from the plant that is dedicated to producing the chemical and Tuesday's release is meant to "complement the abatement technology already put in place at the Fayetteville site in 2013."
The release went on to say that trace amounts of GenX found in the Cape Fear River have been "well below the health screening level announced by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on June 12, 2017, and the company continues to believe that emissions from its Fayetteville facility have not impacted the safety of drinking water.
"However, Chemours will take these additional steps, embracing its role as a significant employer and member of the community. The capture and removal of this wastewater will commence on June 21, 2017."
The Environmental Protection Agency said in an email to WECT on Tuesday that it has initiated an investigation into Chemours’ compliance with a 2009 order issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act for the production of GenX. This investigation will allow the EPA to determine whether Chemours is in compliance with requirements of the order to control releases to the environment at the Fayetteville facility.
EPA is also reviewing the additional toxicity data submitted by the company, as required under the consent order, and updating the risk assessment using the additional toxicity data specific to GenX.
At the request of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), the EPA has agreed to perform independent laboratory analysis for GenX in some of the water samples being collected by NCDEQ at 13 locations in the Cape Fear River over the next three weeks.
The NCDEQ expects the completed results to be back from the laboratory in Colorado within four weeks from when the samples are received and the EPA is working to determine a timeline for its analysis.