PFAS exposure remains a concern for residents of the Lower Cape Fear region, but recent results from an ongoing GenX Exposure Study could provide some assurance for residents that water cleanup has been beneficial.
In 2017, residents learned that their drinking water , which is sourced from the largest watershed in the state, the Cape Fear River Basin, had been contaminated by PFAS chemicals. Chemours and previously DuPont had been dumping the chemicals into the air, ground and water for decades.
These chemicals, which have also been referred to as “forever chemicals” have been used in consumer products since the 1950s and are in lubricants, carpet, clothing, car interiors, food packaging, cleaning products, personal care products, fire-fighting foam and more. They have also been associated with cancer, disruption of the thyroid, immune system, cholesterol levels and pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But Jane Hoppin, professor and principal investigator for North Carolina State University’s GenX Exposure Study, said she doesn’t prefer the term “forever chemicals” because while they remain in our environment forever, they don’t remain in our bodies forever.