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Testing Shows 85 Wells Near Chemours' Facility Contaminated With GenX

Flickr.com/moonlightbulb
Cape Fear River

North Carolina officials say tests have detected elevated levels of the unregulated compound GenX at 34 additional wells near the chemical company Chemours' manufacturing facility near Fayetteville.  That brings the total number of wells contaminated by the potentially harmful compound to 85. GenX is used to make the non-stick coating Teflon often used in cookware. 

Traces of the compound have also been found in two municipal wells used by the Bladen County water system – which is about three miles from the Chemours facility. State officials decided this month to suspended Chemours' permit to discharge wastewater into the nearby Cape Fear River after the Delaware-based company failed to report a GenX spill into the river in October. The Cape Fear provides drinking water to the Fayetteville and Wilmington areas. Several lawsuits have been filed against Chemours and its parent company DuPont over the discharge of GenX into the river.

Marshall came to WFAE after graduating from Appalachian State University, where he worked at the campus radio station and earned a degree in communication. Outside of radio, he loves listening to music and going to see bands - preferably in small, dingy clubs.