This story was originally published by CityView.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently announced that 150,000 additional residents near Chemours’ Fayetteville Works plant now qualify to have their wells tested by the company, which is responsible for contaminating drinking water in the Cape Fear River Basin with toxic “forever chemicals.”
The expanded testing range includes households as far as 30 miles from the plant, reaching in all directions, that rely on private well water in Hoke and Harnett Counties. In addition, the testing range includes Spring Lake, Fort Bragg, Lumberton, Pembroke and Roseboro. Six counties neighboring the Chemours plant now have water contamination associated with the plant: Hoke, Harnett, Cumberland, Bladen, Robeson and Sampson.
Under the 2019 Consent Order with DEQ, Chemours is required to test residential wells for PFAS contamination upon DEQ’s direction. If these chemical compounds are detected, Chemours must immediately provide affected households with bottled water or other filtration solutions.
DEQ provided additional information about expanded well testing at a recen virtual informational session on Tuesday. Here’s everything you need to know about the expanded well testing.
Who qualifies for testing and what is the cost?
Anyone within the sampling area who gets their water from a private well. Households in the sampling area should have recently received a letter in the mail from Chemours notifying them of qualification for well testing. Residents with well water who did not receive a letter but believe they are located within the sampling area or believe they should qualify for testing can contact Chemours.
Residents who qualify for well testing will not be charged for it. Chemours pays for the well testing.
DEQ has provided a map of residences in the Fayetteville area that have already been sampled and tested positive for GenX and elevated PFAS levels.
How can I get my well tested if I qualify?
Residents should contact Chemours to get their well tested. Chemours can be reached at 910-678-1101.
Chemours will provide preliminary results about four to six weeks after the test. If you do not receive your results, contact DEQ’s Division of Waste Management at 919-707-8200. DEQ can also assist residents with interpreting their test results.
Who will do the testing and what will it entail?
The testing is conducted by Parsons, a third-party environmental consultant Chemours has contracted for the service. Chemours will not be conducting the testing.
Parsons will send technicians to your home to take a small water sample from your well. They will typically not need to enter your home, as well access is generally located on the side of the house or at the wellhead.
Once Parsons completes the testing, the samples will be sent to an independent laboratory vetted by DEQ to ensure accurate results.
What happens if PFAS levels are found to be above the acceptable threshold?
Chemours will also pay for filtration systems to be installed in qualifying homes. Filtration options will be based on the concentration of PFAS found in a household’s well.
- If your water has GenX contamination of 10 ppt or higher, you qualify for a whole-house Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filter system, connection to a municipal water supply (if possible) and an under-sink Reverse Osmosis filter unit installed at each sink in your home.
- If the combined level of PFAS detected is 70 ppt or higher, you qualify for three under-sink Reverse Osmosis (RO) filter units.
- If the level of any single PFAS compound is 10 ppt or higher, you qualify for three under-sink Reverse Osmosis (RO) filter units.
Chemours is also required to supply bottled water to qualifying residents until one of these filtration systems is installed. The company will provide these residents with bottled water directly, or with a $225 voucher card that can be used to purchase water anywhere that sells it. The voucher card, which cannot be used to buy anything other than water, is reloaded every 90 days. Households that may need more than $225 to purchase water can contact Chemours.
To receive additional information about well testing, contact DEQ’s Division of Waste Management at 919-707-8200 or via email at WellSamplingQuestions@deq.nc.gov. Chemours can also answer questions about testing at 910-678-1101.
Government accountability reporter Evey Weisblat can be reached at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608.
