EPA’s strategic roadmap related to GenX on the way

FAYETTEVILLE — The federal government plans to take steps to help public health officials determine the risks associated with a compound that has contaminated hundreds of wells around Chemours, and drinking water in Wilmington and other communities downstream from the facility.

The Environmental Protection Agency will release a toxicity assessment for GenX, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said. It is part of a broader move by EPA to develop a “strategic roadmap” on how to deal with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS.

GenX belongs to the PFAS family of compounds, which are sometimes known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down easily.

State officials have been investigating GenX since 2017, when the StarNews newspaper in Wilmington reported that researchers had found the chemical and similar compounds in the Cape Fear River, downstream from the Chemours plant. The company agreed to a consent order that requires it to drastically reduce the amount of GenX it emits into the air.

The Chemours plant in Bladen County makes GenX. The compound also is a byproduct of other processes there.

GenX and similar compounds have been found in hundreds of wells around the Chemours facility, which is off N.C. 87 near the Cumberland County line.

Lisa Randall, a Chemours spokeswoman, said in a statement that company officials have reviewed the EPA roadmap and commend the agency for “compiling a comprehensive, science-based approach.”

“While additional detail is needed for many of the initiatives, Chemours is supportive of the framework approach and looks forward to engaging in the process moving forward,” she said. “We believe the voluntary stewardship program recommended by the agency could help achieve meaningful progress in reducing emissions while several of the initiatives work their way through the regulatory process.”

Regan said the toxicity assessment will help make sure other communities don’t have to go through what those in North Carolina have gone through.

A statement released by EPA officials said the assessment “can be used to develop health advisories that will help communities make informed decisions to better protect human health and ecological wellness.”

The EPA plan says it will publish assessments on hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid and its ammonium salt, which the plan calls “GenX chemicals.” The compounds have been found in surface water, groundwater, drinking water, rainwater, and air emissions, and are known to impact human health and ecosystems, it says.

“Scientists have observed liver and kidney toxicity, immune effects, hematological effects, reproductive and developmental effects, and cancer in animals exposed to GenX chemicals,” the EPA plan says. “Completing a toxicity assessment for GenX is essential to better understanding its effects on people and the environment. EPA can use this information to develop health advisories that will help communities make informed decisions to better protect human health and ecological wellness.”

Chemours officials have said that the amount of GenX in wells around the plant is not harmful.

Scott Faber is senior vice president for government affairs with the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. He said he will be interested to see if the toxicity assessment causes the EPA to set a lifetime health advisory for GenX.

The EPA has issued such advisories for two other PFAS compounds. They are perfluorooctanoic acid, which is known as PFOA, and perfluorooctane sulfonate, PFOS.

PFOA, which also is called C8, was made at the Bladen County facility when it was owned by DuPont. Chemours is a spinoff from DuPont.

The EPA could go further by setting mandatory drinking water standards for PFAS, Faber said. North Carolina also could set standards as some other states have done, he said.

“That might be the quickest way to get GenX out of drinking water,” he said.

The EPA plan also says toxicity assessments will be issued for five other PFAS compounds — PFBA, PFHxA, PFHxS, PFNA, and PFDA.

Three of those compounds — PFHxA, PFNA, and PFDA — and PFOS were found in foam in a Cumberland County stream by state regulators this year. A Chemours spokeswoman said none of those compounds are associated with the plant’s processes.

The EPA plan said that the agency expects to issue health advisories for GenX and another PFAS compound called PFBS next year. EPA published a toxicity assessment for PFBS in April.

The health advisories are non-enforceable and non-regulatory, but will help state and local officials determine if they need to take actions to address public health impacts, the plan said.

“Health advisories offer a margin of protection by defining a level of drinking water concentration at or below which lifetime exposure is not anticipated to lead to adverse health effects,” it said. “They include information on health effects, analytical methodologies, and treatment technologies and are designed to protect all life stages.”

The EPA plan also sets up timelines to set enforceable drinking water limits under the Safe Drinking Water Act, strengthens the ability to hold polluters accountable, and reviews previous actions by the agency regarding PFAS, according to the statement. The plan also calls for increased monitoring, data collection and research, it said.

Faber said the plan represents the first time the administration of a president of either political party has set up timelines for which it can be held accountable.