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Chatham County

four scientists sit at a table where they discuss water pollution

Not all in-home water filters completely remove toxic PFAS

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Not all in-home water filters completely remove toxic PFAS - North Carolina Health News

A new study finds that under-the-sink reverse osmosis systems work best at removing “forever chemicals,” but they aren’t cheap.

By Greg Barnes Not all types of in-home filters are completely effective at removing “forever chemicals” from drinking water, and a few could do more harm than good if not properly maintained, according to a new study released Wednesday by North Carolina researchers. Water filters in refrigerators, pitcher-style filters, under the sink reverse osmosis systems […]

A municipal drinking water plant. Unlike at a private well, water is treated for bactria and for chemicals such as 1.4 dioxane at a central location, then pumped through pipes to residents. This can symbolize 1,4 dioxane contamination and clean water.

DEQ records show repeated releases of probable carcinogen into Haw River

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DEQ records show repeated releases of probable carcinogen into Haw River - North Carolina Health News

DEQ cites Greensboro and Reidsville for failing to report recent releases of 1,4 dioxane, a probable carcinogen, but newly released data show multiple discharges for almost two years.

By Greg Barnes For nearly two years, state regulators have required Greensboro and Reidsville to monitor monthly for the probable carcinogen 1,4 dioxane at their wastewater treatment plants. The data, which the state never made public before Friday, show alarmingly high concentrations of the chemical being released repeatedly into the Haw River from December 2017 […]

A building shot of a red brick structure, this is Chatham Hospital, where a new maternity unit will soon open.

New maternity unit will put family docs at the helm

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New maternity unit will put family docs at the helm - North Carolina Health News

Amidst a trend of rural maternity unit closures across the state, Chatham Hospital announced it will open the 5-bed maternity unit in September 2020.

By Liora Engel-Smith The mural at the corner of Siler City’s Chatham Avenue and Beaver Street describes what was. Created to depict life in the town in 1910, it shows several one- or two-story buildings and a wide dirt road. One building in the mural has a visible sign, an ode to what was the […]

A little girl drinking water among other people. This photo was taken at the Giving Spoon to illustrate food insecurity.

Food insecurity in Chatham represents larger economic trend

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Food insecurity in Chatham represents larger economic trend - North Carolina Health News

In places left out of the recovery, low wages and job insecurity drive expanding need, while politics may create more roadblocks to aid.

Keith Barber Carolina Public Press Chatham County, at the state’s geographical center, is home to 68,778 residents, 7,480 of whom are food insecure, according to data compiled by the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. In Chatham County, roughly one in nine people are struggling with food insecurity, which is slightly less than […]

Sec. Mandy Cohen and Deputy Sec. Dave Richard are sitting at a white table in an update on Medicaid transformation to the House Health committee

March to Medicaid managed care switch looking rocky

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March to Medicaid managed care switch looking rocky - North Carolina Health News

At a meeting Wednesday, lawmakers floated the idea of pushing back the date for switching to managed care from the planned Feb. 1 start date.

By Sarah Ovaska-Few No one said it would be easy to move 1.6 million Medicaid recipients away from the existing fee-for-service system that’s been in place for decades, to a new system with a different management and payment model. And that message – it’s not easy — is what state lawmakers heard Wednesday as top […]

a crowd of people in a room sit to listen intently to a discussion about dioxane and other contaminants

Drinking water contamination draws a crowd at Pittsboro forum

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Drinking water contamination draws a crowd at Pittsboro forum - North Carolina Health News

A Greensboro company responsible for the recent release of 1,4 dioxane says it handled the wastewater for another company that failed to reveal the contaminant.

By Greg Barnes Roughly 200 people turned out Wednesday evening for a forum in Pittsboro to learn more about contaminants in the town’s drinking water. Those who spoke asked state regulators and university researchers about the water coming out of their taps. Whether they needed filtration systems in their homes. Whether it’s safe to eat […]

A faucet with water flowing from it, as an illustration for drinking water contamination, with substances such as 1,4 dioxane and PFAS

DEQ, Greensboro won’t identify industry that contaminated downstream drinking water

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DEQ, Greensboro won’t identify industry that contaminated downstream drinking water - North Carolina Health News

The release of 1,4 dioxane caused large, temporary spikes of the probable carcinogen in drinking water for Fayetteville and Pittsboro.

By Greg Barnes State regulators and Greensboro officials refuse to identify an industry they say accidentally released a large amount of a likely carcinogen into the Cape Fear River basin, temporarily fouling drinking water for Pittsboro, Fayetteville and perhaps other cities downstream. Greensboro officials and the state Department of Environmental Quality also won’t say how […]

Image of money with a caduceus superimposed on the bills. We're using this image to denote Medicaid managed care.

Budget impasse delays Initial Nov. 1 rollout of Medicaid managed care

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Budget impasse delays Initial Nov. 1 rollout of Medicaid managed care - North Carolina Health News

Instead of one quarter of the state program going live this fall, the entire state will make the transition to managed care in Feb. 2020

By Sarah Ovaska-Few and Rose Hoban The standoff between North Carolina’s state government power brokers over the state budget and Medicaid expansion has claimed a victim: the planned roll-out this fall of Medicaid managed care. N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Sec. Mandy Cohen announced Tuesday morning she was pushing back the Nov. 1 […]

Members of the Pittsboro town board discuss PFAS this week

Pittsboro agrees to notify residents of drinking water contamination

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Pittsboro agrees to notify residents of drinking water contamination - North Carolina Health News

The Town Board said chemicals found in the water don’t exceed standards, but residents need to know about the contamination so they can decide on their own whether they think it’s safe.

By Greg Barnes The Pittsboro Town Board of Commissioners has agreed to mail notices to local water customers to alert them of contaminants in the town’s drinking water. Board members stressed that the contaminants are unregulated and don’t exceed state or federal health advisories. But they said residents should be notified to let them decide […]

a woman in rubber boots collects water from a muddy river. She's wearing a sweater, winter clothes

PFAS shows up in Haw River, Pittsboro water, but gets limited local attention

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PFAS shows up in Haw River, Pittsboro water, but gets limited local attention - North Carolina Health News

Research shows that the level of PFAS in Pittsboro’s drinking water is 30 times higher than it is in Durham. A new study by Duke University aims to determine whether Pittsboro residents are being harmed.

This story has been updated with additional information provided by the NC Dept. of Environmental Quality. By Greg Barnes On a windblown day in March, Emily Sutton wore rubber wading boots as she stood on the muddy banks of the Haw River and dipped a plastic sample bottle into the chilly, rushing water. Sutton, the […]

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