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Genx, Environmental Justice, and North Carolina's Legacy of Pollution

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Genx, Environmental Justice, and North Carolina's Legacy of Pollution GenX, Environmental Justice, and North Carolina’s Legacy of Pollution Christine Billings Nicholas Krebs Jatu F. Nugrohorukmi Cameron Smith Mackenzie Todd December 8, 2017 Department of Public and International Affairs Leutze Hall, University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC 28403 GenX, Environmental Justice, and North Carolina’s Legacy of Pollution Final Project Fall Semester 2017 Prepared For Dr. Weinkle’s MCOP 595 Prepared By University of North Carolina at Wilmington Coastal and Ocean Policy Program The cover page pictures were provided by the EPA and StarNews Online. Maps throughout this paper were created using ArcGIS software by Esri. ArcGIS and ArcMap are the intellectual property of Esri and are used herein under license. Copyright © Esri. All Rights Reserved. For more information about Esri software, please visit www.esri.com. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Dr. Rob Hart of UNC Wilmington Department of History, Dr. Larry Cahoon of UNC Wilmington Department of Marine Biology, and Kemp Burdette of Cape Fear River Watch. i Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ i Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review ......................................................................................................................... 4 Methods .......................................................................................................................................... 8 Trends .......................................................................................................................................... 10 Conditions .................................................................................................................................... 15 Discussion .................................................................................................................................... 16 Alternatives .................................................................................................................................. 19 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 22 References .................................................................................................................................... 23 GenX, EJ, and Pollution in NC Dept. of Public and International Affairs, UNCW Introduction The citizens of Wilmington are recently concerned with Cape Fear River contamination from GenX and some other unknown chemical substances. In June 2017, the chemical company Chemours announced publicly that their Fayetteville, NC plant had been discharging the chemical GenX into the Cape Fear River since 1980 (Wagner & Buckland, 2017). GenX is the trade name of the ammonium salt of perfluoro-2-propoxypropanoic acid, a fluorinated hydrocarbon (Sun et al., 2016). Fluorinated hydrocarbons are human-made substances which do not occur naturally, and their very strong carbon and fluorine bonds do not break down except under extremely high temperatures, so they will not decompose in the environment (Beekman et al., 2016). The scientists from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), North Carolina State University, and Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) detected GenX and other perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in the Cape Fear River and the water treatment facilities (Sun et al., 2016). The water treatment plant obtains its water from the Cape Fear River, treats up to 24.5 million gallons of water per day and distributes drinking water to approximately 137 thousand people in New Hanover County (see Figure 1). Fig. 1. The Lower Cape Fear Region, including the Chemours Fayetteville Works plant, where GenX was discharged, and Wilmington, where public outcry about GenX is increasing (Data source: NC Department of Transportation, 2017). Many people are worried about what the chemical compound can do to the body since there is no clear information regarding the compound. They can protect themselves by 1 GenX, EJ, and Pollution in NC Dept. of Public and International Affairs, UNCW consuming bottled water or installing a reverse osmosis filter for their tap water. However, not everyone in New Hanover County can afford these alternatives, and it raises an environmental injustice issue. Wilmington has a significant population of people of color, particularly African American and Hispanic people (Fig. 2), and their communities have historically been underserved with information and infrastructure. Fig. 2. Minority populations in Wilmington, NC (Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2016) The GenX case in Wilmington is an example of serious environmental pollution that keeps occurring in the United States, regardless the available regulation to control it. GenX is a replacement for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), an eight-carbon chain PFC that is much more widely studied. Chemical industries have been manufacturing various kinds of PFCs since the early 20th century, using a process known as electrochemical fluorination, where hydrogen fluoride (HF) is combined with straight chain hydrocarbons and electricity to replace the hydrogen atoms with fluorines (Lindstrom, Strynar, & Libelo, 2011). They are used in a variety of applications, including water- and grease- resistant coatings for paper, plastics, carpets, and textiles, as well as aviation firefighting foam (U.S. EPA, 2015b). We are exposed to these compounds through food, drinking water, food packaging, consumer products, and house dust. The EPA Science Advisory Board has classified PFOAs as “likely to be carcinogenic in humans”, and animal studies have shown developmental effects and mammary gland development effects (Post, Cohn, & Cooper, 2012). After decades of manufacture and use of PFOA and other polyfluorinated compounds, in the late 1990s, the development of mass spectrometry made it possible to accurately determine the levels of PFCs in water, soil, and living creatures. Studies using this technique revealed PFCs in the blood of over 99% of humans, as well as in wildlife all around the world, including in areas far from humans, such as whales in the middle of the ocean (Lindstrom et al., 2011). PFOA is highly water soluble and accumulates in the blood serum and liver in animals including humans, and even small concentrations in drinking water can lead to high concentrations in the body. It has a half-life of several years in the human body, even if exposure is completely stopped (Post et al., 2012). A growing body of evidence shows that PFOA has a variety of negative effects, including hypertension, decreased response to vaccines, liver damage, and kidney and testicular cancer (Grandjean & Clapp, 2015). 2 GenX, EJ, and Pollution in NC Dept. of Public and International Affairs, UNCW It is also persistent in the environment which makes it a toxicological concern (Fromme, Tittlemier, Völkel, Wilhelm, & Twardella, 2009). In 2006, EPA created 2010/2015 PFOA Stewardship Program involving eight major companies in the U.S. to phase out the use and emission of PFOA to the environment, because of its high risk to public health. The scientists at Chemours claimed that GenX with its six-carbon chain is a less harmful alternative than other PFCs with longer carbon chains. However, the evidence for this claim is not conclusive. Due to scientific advancement, every year new contaminants emerge with unknown effects on the environment. The government has already put up some regulation to control the damaging impacts. The regulations such as the Clean Water Act (CWA), Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), and Executive Order 12898 have primary goals that focus on eliminating discharge of toxins, lowering risk associated with toxins in our water, and improving environmental justice for minority populations. The CWA aims to have zero discharge of pollutants, have fishable and swimmable waters, and no toxins in toxic amounts (Adler, Landman, & Cameron, 1993). The SDWA is providing a framework in which the EPA, state, and public can work together to protect clean water (U.S. EPA, 2004). The SDWA provides barriers to pollution through source water protection, treatment, distribution system integrity, and public information and has a goal of no adverse effects to the public (no loss of life or property) (U.S. EPA, 2004). The TSCA addresses the importation, production, and disposal of certain chemicals, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (U.S. EPA, 2016b). TSCA states that providing information about the effect of a substance is the responsibility of the manufacturer, and that an authority should exist to regulate and take action if chemicals are found to be hazardous, and to assure that innovation and commerce do not present an unreasonable risk (15 U.S. Code). These goals also try to provide framework for interagency coordination between federal, state, and local governments. People are distraught because the regulations, which are supposed to protect them from being exposed to toxic chemicals, are not always proven to be effective. Having toxins in the environment and our drinking water means these Acts are not being upheld. The effectiveness of these policy tools is highly questionable and has not adequately protected the public from many toxic contaminants.
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