November 19, 2018
More people living near the Chemours plant could qualify for alternate water supplies if the EPA’s initial findings on the toxicity of GenX, released last week, are finalized.
The basis for the potential switch is the EPA’s draft report proposing a chronic reference dose for GenX that translates to a health goal of 110 parts per trillion in drinking water. (The EPA is taking public comment on the draft. Scroll down for instructions.)
A chronic reference dose is the daily amount of GenX a person can be exposed to for decades without suffering adverse health effects. A health goal is non-enforceable but is widely used by states and tribal nations to issue recommendations. North Carolina’s provisional health goal for GenX in drinking water is 140 ppt.
In the Wilmington area, concentrations of GenX in drinking water are already below 110 ppt.
However, some people who live near the Chemours plant are on private wells that have tested between 110 ppt and 140 ppt. Those households could switch to bottled water, whole-house filters or connection to a public water system. Chemours would be responsible for the cost of installing or connecting those systems.
The wells of 225 households in that area have already tested above 140 ppt.
The full article can be accessed here.