$15M for PFAS detection near NC fire stations included in proposed state budget

A proposed state spending plan for North Carolina includes millions of dollars to detect and remediate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: a group of man-made chemicals known as “PFAS” used in a variety of products including some cookware and firefighting foam. 

North Carolina has been home to concerns about PFAS and so-called “forever chemicals” for years. The chemicals don’t break down easily and have been linked to cancer and other health risks.

Chemours, a spin-off of chemical maker DuPont, has a facility in Fayetteville and recently reached a federal settlement with the Trump administration to implement controls to reduce releases of toxic chemicals near the Cape Fear River. North Carolina already has a separate consent order with Chemours from 2019 requiring reductions in PFAS emissions, filtration and replacement drinking water. Gov. Josh Stein and Attorney General Jeff Jackson denounced the latest settlement, saying it doesn’t guarantee clean drinking water for North Carolinians. 

Legislation proposed by the GOP-controlled North Carolina General Assembly grants the North Carolina Collaboratory at UNC-Chapel Hill $15 million for research and remediation of PFAS near North Carolina fire stations. Toxic chemicals can be found in firefighters’ protective gear and firefighting foam. The money could be used to develop and implement a pilot program for deep cleaning of firefighter protective gear to mitigate PFAS exposure. It could also be used to provide temporary water supplies to fire stations on water wells with elevated levels of PFAS, and to test water in wells used by firefighters. 

The proposal also requires the Collaboratory to study the effects of PFAS more broadly and conduct “toxicological impact assessments” of its effects on the state’s drinking water. The proposal allows the group to use funding for research detection methods for toxic chemicals, ways to filter or destroy PFAS and 1,4-dioxane in drinking water, and potential replacement compounds for PFAS. The Collaboratory and the state Department of Environmental Quality are expected to work together to identify PFAS pollution using waste samples. 

The state intends to create an “Emerging Contaminant Mitigation Fund” to support statewide efforts to detect and prevent public exposure to pollutants. The fund — which will feature money allocated by the state as well as money granted to the state through legal settlements — can be used to help support local government efforts to prevent or reduce pollution.