US EPA

Linda Birnbaum retires from NIEHS, but don’t expect her to fade away

December 9, 2019 by Greg Barnes

Linda Birnbaum retires from NIEHS, but don’t expect her to fade away - North Carolina Health News

The renowned scientist says retirement allows her to speak more freely about the toxins that are plaguing our world.

By Greg Barnes She may not be universally well known, but in the science community, Linda Birnbaum is a rock star. That’s her, up on the stage, wearing a red-striped dress that matches her red-framed glasses. She’s giving the opening address to about 400 like-minded researchers at an August conference in Durham on per- and […]

shows a lake with pilings sticking up from the water. It's a lake contaminated with coal ash.

Researcher weighs in on Trump administration’s coal ash rule redo

November 15, 2019 by Coastal Review Online

Researcher weighs in on Trump administration’s coal ash rule redo - North Carolina Health News

Earlier this month, the US EPA announced amendments to the regulations for the disposal of coal ash. Environmentalists are saying the rollback gives industry permission to pollute longer.

By Mark Hibbs Coastal Review Online The Trump administration moved last week to rewrite part of Obama-era regulations addressing coal ash disposal, which entails risks that a Duke University researcher says are all too familiar in coastal North Carolina. But a Duke Energy spokesperson said the proposed changes will have no effect on the utility’s […]

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

Another dump of carcinogenic chemicals in the Haw, Cape Fear basin

October 23, 2019 by Greg Barnes

Another dump of carcinogenic chemicals in the Haw, Cape Fear basin - North Carolina Health News

Two months after the contaminant was detected at Greensboro’s wastewater treatment plant, it has been found again, this time in Reidsville in an even higher concentration.

By Greg Barnes The state Department of Environmental Quality said today that it has notified public water utilities downstream of Reidsville that another discharge of the likely carcinogen 1,4 dioxane has again fouled the Cape Fear River basin. It is the second known release of a large volume of the chemical into the basin since […]

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 identifies Greensboro company responsible for discharging chemical

October 15, 2019 by Greg Barnes

DEQ identifies Greensboro company responsible for discharging chemical - North Carolina Health News

DEQ initiates weekly sampling for the likely carcinogen 1,4 dioxane at Greensboro’s wastewater treatment plant.

By Greg Barnes Shamrock Environmental Corp. is the Greensboro company responsible for discharging an unspecified amount of the likely carcinogen 1,4 dioxane into the Cape Fear River basin, the state Department of Environmental Quality said in a statement released this afternoon. Officials with Shamrock Environmental were unable to be reached for comment. According to its […]

shows three people behind a table with microphones, they're each standing and raising their right hands before they testify about PFAS

Chemical company execs come under fire at congressional hearing on PFAS

September 18, 2019 by Greg Barnes

Chemical company execs come under fire at congressional hearing on PFAS - North Carolina Health News

For the first time, executives from Chemours, DuPont and 3M were called before a U.S. House environmental oversight committee to discuss their accountability in the PFAS contamination plaguing North Carolina and the country.

By Greg Barnes Near the end of a congressional hearing last week, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz grilled executives of the 3M, DuPont and Chemours chemical companies about their willingness to compensate people harmed by fluorinated compounds. The hearing, before a U.S. House subcommittee on environmental oversight and reform, was the third in a series amid […]

Members of the Pittsboro town board discuss PFAS this week

Pittsboro agrees to notify residents of drinking water contamination

August 15, 2019 by Greg Barnes

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

July 30, 2019 by Greg Barnes

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 […]

shows a couple embracing in a room, in the foreground are the tanks of the water filtration system.

Duke to study PFAS health effects in Pittsboro residents

July 29, 2019 by Greg Barnes

Duke to study PFAS health effects in Pittsboro residents - North Carolina Health News

Michigan residents say their state failed to quickly warn them about PFAS exposure. Could the same thing be happening in North Carolina?

This story has been updated with additional information provided by the NC Dept. of Environmental Quality. By Greg Barnes The drinking fountains at Gray’s Creek and Alderman Road elementary schools will remain shut off when students return to classes in Cumberland County next month. Those students have been drinking bottled water since October 2017, when […]

Photo taken from the banks of the Cape Fear River near the Memorial Bridge that crosses the river between New Hanover and Brunswick counties.

Lower Cape Fear River no longer classified as “swamp water”

July 12, 2019 by Greg Barnes

Lower Cape Fear River no longer classified as “swamp water” - North Carolina Health News

The state Environmental Management Commission repeals the designation and directs state regulators to develop strategies to improve water quality.

By Greg Barnes An impaired 15-mile stretch of the lower Cape Fear River below Wilmington will no longer be classified as swamp water. The state Environmental Management Commission on Thursday granted a petition filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center — on behalf of Waterkeeper Alliance and Cape Fear River Watch — to scrap the […]

Samples suggest unreported coal ash spills

June 4, 2019 by Coastal Review Online

Samples suggest unreported coal ash spills - North Carolina Health News

Researchers from Duke University examined coal ash solids found in sediments collected from Sutton Lake in 2015 and 2018 suggesting the lake has been contaminated by multiple spills.

By Trista Talton Coastal Review Online Coal ash found in the sediment at the bottom of Lake Sutton suggests multiple, unreported and unmonitored spills have occurred for years at Duke Energy’s former coal-fired plant near Wilmington, according to a new study conducted by researchers at Duke University. Sediment samples collected from the lake in 2015 […]

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