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

North Carolina Requiring New Steps To Reduce GenX Emissions

An aerial view of the Cape Fear River near Wilmington. Chemours lost its permit to discharge wastewater into the river. Photo courtesy U.S Army Corps of Engineers.

North Carolina environmental regulators have ordered a chemical company to take further steps to reduce emissions that have questionable health effects. 

On Monday, the state Department of Environmental Quality issued a notice of violation telling Chemours to take more actions to control emissions of GenX and other compounds at its Bladen County plant.

The notice orders the company to do a better job of cutting back on air emissions with particles that can settle and contribute to groundwater contamination.

Delaware-based Chemours didn't immediately respond to a request by the Associated Press for comment. The American chemical company was founded in 2015 as a spin-off from DuPont.

State lawmakers and regulators have been taking a closer look at GenX over concerns that the chemical is present in waterways that supply drinking water to communities in eastern North Carolina.

GenX is used to make Teflon and other coatings.

 

 

 

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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

Donate