ST. PAULS — The Robeson County Health Department will begin testing private wells this week in the northeastern corner of the county for GenX and several other “emerging contaminants” released by the Chemours chemical plant.
Bill Smith, director of the Robeson County Health Department, and county Commissioner Lance Herndon collaborated on the decision to contract with a testing company for voluntary sampling of as many as 48 shallow wells within three miles of Chemours, formerly DuPont’s Fayetteville Works.
The state Division of Environmental Quality found wells in Bladen and Cumberland with levels of GenX higher than the state recommended limit of 140 parts per trillion. Tests have been conducted within one mile of the plant thus far, and no wells were tested across the Robeson County line, which is approximately three miles from the plant.
“We’ve had discussions with County Manager Ricky Harris and Commissioner Herndon, who represents that area of Robeson County,” Smith said. “We will be on foot going from place to place.”
The testing is voluntary and the county will pick up the cost of $250 per well sample. The Health Department has contracted with the GEL Group, which is also analyzing well water samples for the state.
Robeson will go further than the state’s testing program and look for an entire family of chemicals known by the acronyms PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as C8) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate). They are used in the manufacture of Teflon and other products.
“I’ve watched this issue from its beginning,” said Smith, who attended two of the three public meetings hosted by the Division of Environmental Quality. “I’m glad we are testing these wells.”
Last summer, a North Carolina State University scientist found high levels of GenX in Wilmington’s water supply, which is drawn from the Cape Fear River where DuPont and now Chemours discharge wastewater. The news and the resulting controversy sent investigators straight to the plant, which is located along the Cape Fear River on N.C. 87 in Bladen County.
“Even small amounts of GenX are considered dangerous,” Smith said. “One-hundred-and-forty ppt is like 140 drops in an Olympic-size pool with 660,000 gallons.”
Smith wrote about the issue in a column that can be found in the C section in today’s paper.
Deep wells, used for public drinking water, and irrigation wells will not be tested, because the risk is minimal. Bodies of water, including swamps nearby, will be tested, Smith said.
Herndon said the threat to wells and surface water in Robeson County pushed the decision.
“Water running off south of N.C. 87 goes into the Lumber River basin,” the commissioner said. “This is not far from Robeson County.
“It’s unusual for a river as large as the Cape Fear to have the basin from another river so close to it,” Herndon said. “Gallberry Swamp is not far from the plant.”
Several lakes, including one at Camp Dixie, have also tested with high levels of GenX. This raises the possibility that the chemical travels by air as well as water.
In the column, Smith said that there is no known threat from bathing or washing clothes and dishes in water tainted with GenX. Chemours was ordered to provide drinking water for residents whose wells tested at or above 140 ppt.
“Many questions arose after the public meetings,” Herndon said. “I’m glad we are being proactive to learn more about the issue.”
Herndon pointed to the Division of Environmental Quality website, which has information for the public about GenX. The Health Department director has also kept an eye on the issue as it developed.
“My hope is that the tests come up negative,” Smith said. “Then, we will not have to test out farther than three miles.”
Until testing is completed, the spread of GenX and other chemicals from the plant is not known. In a separate health advisory, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has set a safe level for GenX in drinking water that is lower than the state’s, and funding for a study of the issue is being debated in the North Carolina General Assembly.
Chemours is located in a corner of Bladen, Cumberland and Robeson counties that is not heavily populated, and it is not served by public water systems that draw from deep wells. There are a number of deep wells several miles from the chemical plant that serve St. Pauls and Prestage chicken processors.
Anyone living in the affected area who has a private well for drinking purposes in Robeson County and wants to have it tested can call Kim Maynor a 910-671-3220 to have that done. There is no charge to the property owner for this service.
