Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

New Testing Brings Total Of GenX-Contaminated Wells To 85

An aerial view of the Cape Fear River near Wilmington. (Photo courtesy U.S Army Corps of Engineers)

State officials say tests have found high levels of a potentially harmful compound at dozens of additional wells near a chemical company's manufacturing facility.

The tests focused on GenX, which has been found in the Cape Fear River downstream from the Chemours Co. plant in Bladen County. The results announced Monday bring the total number of wells contaminated by GenX to 85.

The Fayetteville Observer reports the verified results from tests conducted last month also found 48 wells with a level of the chemical below the state's health goal.

Traces of GenX also have been found in two municipal wells used by the Bladen County water system, around 3 miles from the Chemours plant.

The state is suspending Chemours' permit to discharge wastewater into a neighboring river on Nov. 30. Officials took action after the Wilmington, Delaware-based company failed to report an October spill of a GenX precursor.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate