water quality

shows the back of a man standing at a plane side, helping load up, the view is through a set of bright orange struts

Medical and Other Supplies Fly Their Way to Florence Flooded Areas

September 23, 2018 by Rose Hoban

Medical and Other Supplies Fly Their Way to Florence Flooded Areas - North Carolina Health News

Dozens of pilots flying out of the general aviation facility at Raleigh-Durham Airport have been delivering essential supplies to people on the coast trapped by floodwaters.

By Rose Hoban For the past week, squadrons of pilots have descended onto the tarmac at the general aviation portion of Raleigh-Durham Airport, bringing their small planes and a willingness to ferry essential supplies to a coast isolated by flooding. Pilot Ken Haenlein from Southern Pines summed up what was driving the dozens of pilots […]

A satellite image of the Fayetteville Works Plant and a small lake a short distance north

Deadline Here for GenX Emissions Cut

September 5, 2018 by Coastal Review Online

Deadline Here for GenX Emissions Cut - North Carolina Health News

A deadline set by state regulators for Chemours to reduce air and water GenX pollution has now passed by, has the company reached it's targets?

By Vaughn Hagerty Coastal Review Online North Carolina regulators had proposed that Chemours cut all GenX emissions at the Fayetteville Works facility by 97 percent by last Friday, a feat the company insists is impossible short of shutting down the plant. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality unveiled that deadline in June as part […]

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

2018 Environmental Health in the State Budget

July 2, 2018 by Catherine Clabby

2018 Environmental Health in the State Budget - North Carolina Health News

Our annual summary of all things environmental health in the state budget.

By Catherine Clabby and Rose Hoban Usually, in the second year of the legislative biennium, lawmakers return to Raleigh to revise spending for the second year of the biennial budget bill written and ratified the prior year. Usually, the House presents a budget, the Senate revises that budget and conferees from each chamber hammer out […]

shows satellite photo with annotations of plant and processing area locations.

Reworked GenX Bill Goes Back to House

February 12, 2018 by Coastal Review Online

Reworked GenX Bill Goes Back to House - North Carolina Health News

In what's shaping up to be a tug-of-war between the North Carolina House of Representatives and Senate over GenX, senators sent a bill to add funding to address the pollution, but without aspects the House wanted.

By Kirk Ross Coastal Review Online A last-minute amendment Friday to the Senate’s version of a bill to expand state efforts on GenX and emerging contaminants gave House negotiators some of what they wanted. But as the House readies for a potential vote on the measure Tuesday, the question is whether what the Senate offered […]

cape fear memorial bridge at sunset with a pretty sky in the background

Only Partial Support for More GenX Funding

January 11, 2018 by Catherine Clabby

Only Partial Support for More GenX Funding - North Carolina Health News

Republicans and Democrats in the state House of Representatives want to give state regulators more money, but Senate leaders won’t join in.

By Catherine Clabby With additional reporting by Taylor Knopf In a bipartisan response to outrage over contaminated drinking water, members of the North Carolina House of Representatives voted unanimously Wednesday to give state environmental regulators more money to prevent pollution. A proposed $1.3 million fund would not be a huge boost to the state’s $77 […]

Shows arial map of Chemours with testing sites marked in red.

GenX Probe Expands On Land, In Neighbors’ Wells

November 10, 2017 by Catherine Clabby

GenX Probe Expands On Land, In Neighbors’ Wells - North Carolina Health News

DEQ has stepped up studies on the scale and source of well water and land contamination from a DuPont-built chemical facility.

By Catherine Clabby For 20 years, Bobby Joe Swilley paid little heed to a DuPont-built chemical plant close to his roomy home in rural Cumberland County. No more. Like some other Gray’s Creek township residents, Swilley recently learned that the industrial chemical GenX produced at that faculty has seeped into his well water. Now he […]

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

Analysis: Securing Safety of Drinking Water

November 6, 2017 by Coastal Review Online

Analysis: Securing Safety of Drinking Water - North Carolina Health News

Although the state now has two legislative committees, a newly reformed science panel and resources in two state departments committed to GenX, there’s no consensus yet on a way forward.

By Kirk Ross Coastal Review Online After this summer’s revelations about the extent of GenX and other compounds in the Wilmington region’s drinking water supply, state and local officials have vowed to do two things: Secure the safety of the water and prevent similar events from occurring in the future. As testing and cost estimates […]

Shows pipes labeled with chemical names, such as lime, ferric chloride, etc, in a water plant

Newest GenX Lawsuit Attacks DuPont Science

November 2, 2017 by Catherine Clabby

Newest GenX Lawsuit Attacks DuPont Science - North Carolina Health News

A complaint filed on behalf of Brunswick County in federal court alleges the chemical company downplayed dangers detected in its own toxicology studies.

By Catherine Clabby DuPont downplayed its own animal research regarding potential risks from the chemical GenX that the company released into the Cape Fear River for decades, a new lawsuit alleges. And the company prolonged exposure to GenX and other compounds by not disclosing their release into the river, which feeds public drinking water systems […]

shows woman standing at a podium, with a panel of lawmakers sitting behind her

GenX Battle Expected As Legislature Returns

October 4, 2017 by Coastal Review Online

GenX Battle Expected As Legislature Returns - North Carolina Health News

Legislators return to Raleigh with an unclear agenda. But one agenda item is likely: GenX, the chemical that's been found in the Cape Fear River.

By Kirk Ross Coastal Review Online Another short legislative session opens this week with a number of environmental measures on an evolving to-do list, including another round in the ongoing fight between the legislature and Gov. Roy Cooper regarding funding for the response to GenX contamination in the Cape Fear River. Although the session’s main […]

What if DuPont Had Gone Green in North Carolina?

October 3, 2017 by Catherine Clabby

What if DuPont Had Gone Green in North Carolina? - North Carolina Health News

DuPont never ramped up a greener production technique that the company licensed from UNC that might have reduced demand for chemicals like GenX years ago.

By Catherine Clabby When scientist-entrepreneur Joseph DeSimone reads news about plastics-related industrial pollution from DuPont-built chemical plants in the Cape Fear River, or anywhere, he can’t help but envision what might have been. Nearly 20 years ago, DuPont obtained an exclusive license for a DeSimone invention that used a greener process to produce the high-performance […]

Additional Thanks

Categories