Sanford

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

Pittsboro task force recommends “deep discounts” so poor residents can afford clean drinking water

November 23, 2020 by Greg Barnes Leave a Comment

Pittsboro task force recommends “deep discounts” so poor residents can afford clean drinking water - North Carolina Health News

Pittsboro’s drinking water has been found to contain high levels of PFAS and other potentially carcinogenic compounds. A task force has spent the last year studying long- and short-term remedies to the problem. It recommends the town buy in-home filtration systems in bulk and sell them to residents at a reduced price.

By Greg Barnes The Pittsboro Drinking Water Task Force wants the town to provide deeply discounted reverse osmosis filtration systems to low-income residents while it continues to explore permanent solutions for a community rocked by contaminated drinking water. The task force, which formed in November 2019, issued its final report in October on the avenues […]

shows a person with a cuff on their arm, a pair of hands in rubber gloves is about to draw blood

Duke study finds high PFAS levels in Pittsboro residents’ blood

October 29, 2020 by Greg Barnes

Duke study finds high PFAS levels in Pittsboro residents’ blood - North Carolina Health News

The study says about 1 million people may be drinking water that contains PFAS contamination that originates in the Haw River and flows downstream into the Cape Fear River.

By Greg Barnes A new Duke University study has found that the concentrations of some potentially cancerous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — or PFAS — are two to four times higher in the blood of Pittsboro residents than the U.S. population as a whole. The study also found that some types of PFAS chemicals found […]

When the water at the Sanford water plant in September, it had high rates of PFAS

State lawmaker says fighting PFAS in NC will require more than enforceable standards

September 10, 2020 by Greg Barnes

State lawmaker says fighting PFAS in NC will require more than enforceable standards - North Carolina Health News

Rep. Pricey Harrison would welcome new maximum contaminant levels for certain types of PFAS, but she worries that industries would just switch to another PFAS compound, resulting in a game of whack-a-mole. Part 2 of 2

By Greg Barnes Months after DuPont bought the rights to produce Perfluorooctanoic acid (known as PFOA or C8) from Minnesota’s 3M Corp. in 2002, DuPont discovered that the suspected carcinogen used to make Teflon had leaked into the groundwater under the company’s Fayetteville Works plant. Except for some local newspaper articles and rumblings from environmental […]

shows low level satellite photo of a dam feeding into a river, surrounded by trees, GenX

Attorney general investigating industries that pollute NC’s waterways with PFAS

August 12, 2020 by Greg Barnes

Attorney general investigating industries that pollute NC’s waterways with PFAS - North Carolina Health News

The so-called “forever chemicals” are ubiquitous in North Carolina, especially in the Cape Fear River basin. AG Josh Stein says the state must hold polluters accountable.

By Greg Barnes North Carolina’s attorney general says he has started an investigation into manufacturers that contaminate the state’s waterways with per-or polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS or “forever chemicals.” “North Carolinians expect and deserve clean water to drink,” Attorney General Josh Stein said in a news release on Monday announcing his investigation. “The […]

Study co-authors Tiffany Penland (left) and Casey Grieshaber gather fish from the Pee Dee River to test tissue for the presence and abundance of PFAS. Photo credit: N.C. State

N.C. State study finds PFAS throughout Yadkin-Pee Dee River food chain

June 26, 2020 by Greg Barnes

N.C. State study finds PFAS throughout Yadkin-Pee Dee River food chain - North Carolina Health News

Researchers say the PFAS could threaten the ecosystem, human health and an imperiled fish called the robust redhorse.

By Greg Barnes While sampling the Yadkin-Pee Dee River’s food chain for perfluorinated compounds known as PFAS, N.C. State University researchers managed to capture a robust redhorse that was about to spawn. Capturing the fish, a member of the sucker family, was no easy task. According to N.C. Wildlife Commission, an estimated 62 reproductive adult […]

We see a tent with several people in it who are wearing head-to-toe personal protective equipment, thyr'e talking to someone in a car who is waiting to b tested for COVID-19

Coronavirus Today – May 28 – Bars, senators and Cooper; COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations increase; NC poet laureate joins information campaign

May 28, 2020 by Editor

Coronavirus Today – May 28 – Bars, senators and Cooper; COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations increase; NC poet laureate joins information campaign - North Carolina Health News

As NC bar owners cry foul, lawmakers look to weaken the governor’s executive order.

By North Carolina Health News staff Senate wants to open bars outdoors as hospitalizations rise The state Senate approved a proposal that would allow bars to open in outdoor spaces at half their capacity or for no more than 100 people despite the governor’s safer-at-home order prohibiting such action due to concerns of spreading coronavirus. […]

four scientists sit at a table where they discuss water pollution

Not all in-home water filters completely remove toxic PFAS

February 6, 2020 by Greg Barnes

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

New DEQ data show ‘staggering’ levels of PFAS in Cape Fear River basin

February 3, 2020 by Greg Barnes

New DEQ data show ‘staggering’ levels of PFAS in Cape Fear River basin - North Carolina Health News

The DEQ required 25 utilities in the basin to test for “forever chemicals” at their sewer treatment plants for three months. One scientist called the results of those tests “incredibly high.”

By Greg Barnes A water sample taken in September from the Sanford sewage treatment plant that discharges into Deep River uncovered “staggering” concentrations of forever chemicals, newly released documents from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality reveal. The sample contained perfluorooctanesulfonic acid — or PFOS — measuring 1,000 parts per trillion. That is more 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

October 24, 2019 by Sarah Ovaska

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 […]

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

October 14, 2019 by Greg Barnes

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 […]

Additional Thanks

Categories