RALEIGH, N.C. (WRMT) – Gov. Roy Cooper sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan urging it to reverse its decision to allow the Chemours facility in North Carolina to import waste material containing GenX.
“It is unacceptable for North Carolinians to bear the risks associated with importing millions of pounds of GenX from other countries for disposal in our air, land and water. Under the Biden Administration, the EPA has been a vital partner in our efforts to learn more about these chemicals and protect the health of our communities and we will continue to encourage them to take action,” said Gov. Cooper.
More than four million pounds of GenX waste from a Chemours facility in the Netherlands was approved by the EPA to be sent to the Chemours Fayetteville Works plant in Bladen County, according to a report from NC Newsline.
However, the EPA put a stop to the imports several years ago to learn more about the waste itself. But on Sept. 8, imports began again and are expected to continue into September 2024, according to the EPA documents.
An EPA spokesperson provided this statement last month:
“All recycling residuals from the GenX recovery process at the Chemours Fayetteville Works facility – though not classified as hazardous waste – are sent to a hazardous waste disposal facility in Texas. EPA inspected the Fayetteville Works facility in June of 2017 and found that the facility was adequately controlling effluent and emissions at the building where GenX is recovered from imported wastewater in accordance with the 2009 TSCA Section 5(e) consent order.”
You can learn more about GenX here.
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