WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) -
Beth Markesino is on a mission to learn more about the chemical GenX.
When the Wilmington mother read that the chemical had been found in the Cape Fear River, she said the feeling was all to familiar.
“The whole community was like what is going on, how long has this been going on," said Markesino. "I’m completely having a déjà vu moment.”
Markesino moved to Wilmington from Michigan two years ago. Before moving, she helped those affected by the Flint water crisis.
“It doesn’t target one person," Markesino said. "It's everybody in a community.”
Markesino decided to create a Facebook page to educate people about the little-known compound. She hopes it will be removed from the water supply, but she knows it won't be easy.
“It takes around 20 years to federal regulate a chemical, 20 years," she said.
Last October, Markesino lost her son during pregnancy. She said she drank several large glasses of tap water a day.
“I can’t help but wonder, did I lose Samuel from the water," she said. "I just don’t know.”
It's those fears that many of the other people on her Facebook page share. She hopes to bring them answers.
“We are all afraid, and we are all questioning," said Markesino. "I’m going to do anything and everything in my power to get those answers.”
She plans to take samples from the Cape Fear River to labs in Flint later this week.