RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) — Not enough is being done to protect the health of residents impacted by contaminated drinking water, advocacy group Clean Cape Fear said Monday, following the United Nations’ declaration that the United States has fallen short in resolving human rights violations in North Carolina.
In North Carolina, chemical company DuPont and its spin-off Chemours, have been releasing toxic chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects from its Fayetteville plant into the lower Cape Fear River for decades, polluting residents’ drinking water.
DuPont and Chemours have been criticized by the United Nations for “business-related human rights abuses,” including importing per- and polyfluorinated substance, or PFAS, waste from the Netherlands to North Carolina in violation of international law.
On Monday, Marcos Orellana, United Nations Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, said that while DuPont, Chemours and the Netherlands have all since participated in a process to correct the human rights violations, the United States has not replied to a letter of allegation with a corrective plan.
“PFAS has become a global problem,” said Orellana. “We're seeing this situation replicated in places like Japan and Italy, in South Africa and other places. And so, a few companies, many of them headquartered here in the United States, have become responsible for causing a global environmental crisis.”
The plant, which produces fluoropolymers used in making lithium ion batteries, also contaminated the local area through air emissions, which made their way into the soil and groundwater.
PFAs are used to make heat- and water-resistant coatings and products, including non-stick pans, clothing, paint, cleaning products and shampoo. They can cause birth defects, liver damage and cancer, and are called "forever chemicals" because they don’t break down and can remain in the environment for decades, and build up in the human body.
Emily Donovan, the co-founder of Clean Cape Fear, lives outside of Wilmington, North Carolina, one of the cities that receives their drinking water primarily from the Cape Fear River. The river supplies drinking water for millions of North Carolina residents.
“For me, for my family, for the children that are raised on this drinking water, it is past due time to be able to turn on a tap and be guaranteed a health-protective quality in our tap water,” she said.
Donavan said that though they’re still working to fully determine the scope of Chemours’ contamination, they estimate it has impacted over 500,000 residents in over eight counties.
The organization has seen illnesses related to the pollution, and in many regions, residents still are without access to clean, safe drinking water.
“What makes this situation so unique is that it definitely is the ground zero for PFAS in … the United States related to DuPont and Chemours,” said Donavan, who said residents have discovered high levels of PFAS in their blood. “And we are tired of being a sacrifice zone.”
The Environmental Protection Agency announced legally enforceable limits last Wednesday on the amount of PFAS occurring individually and in drinking water. Under their new guidelines, NC Newsline reported, over 300 water systems in North Carolina have elevated levels of PFAS, including systems that service mobile home parks and daycares.
Public water systems have five years to comply with the regulations. Nearly $1 billion in federal funding was allocated to addressing the contamination, but Clean Cape Fear says that won’t be enough to cover the expenses, and that many impacted communities have been forced to sue Chemours to help cover cleanup costs.
Donovan says that while Clean Cape Fear is supportive of the new drinking water standards, there need to be more protections for residents, as the three major water suppliers impacted by the contamination have had to “shoulder the burden” to pay for filtration upgrades.
Donovan pointed out that if industrial releases of PFAS are reduced, the reduction in contamination will ease the burden on the water systems filtering the water, and reduce the cost for the local community.
“We're really supportive of the new drinking water standards,” she said. “That does not does not mean that the problem is solved. It also doesn't mean that the work is done.”
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