Officials with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality have verified Chemours Fayetteville facility has stopped discharging wastewater tainted with the chemical GenX into the Cape Fear River.
Officials with the Department of Environmental Quality performed a site inspection of the facility on Tuesday. According to state officials, Chemours is now holding the wastewater in tanks on the company’s site. The department issued a press release that states the wastewater is being taken out of state to Arkansas and being incinerated.
State officials have said that while they have verified the company is no longer discharging GenX tainted wastewater into the river, samples of water from the river have been taken and sent to an independent lab in Colorado and the Environmental Protection Agency’s lab in Research Triangle Park for testing for GenX. The sampling is expected to continue through July 6.
GenX is a chemical that is a byproduct of the process used in the manufacture of Teflon coatings. It replaced another chemical called C-8. GenX is a concern as it has been alleged to cause kidney and testicular cancers as well as liver problems.
Detlef Knappe, a professor at NC State University in Raleigh and his research team found traces of GenX in the Cape Fear River. They published their findings in the Environmental Science and Technology Letter.
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