Fluoroethers taint sediments

Abstract

In a finding that has implications for drinking water safety, researchers at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, have identified fluorochemicals linked to a Chemours plant in river sediment. Previously, scientists found compounds related to Chemours’s GenX fluorosurfactant in the waters of the Cape Fear River downstream of the company’s plant near Fayetteville, N.C. New results from state-funded investigations by UNC-Wilmington researchers mark the first time hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA)—the product of GenX hydrolysis—and related fluoroethers have been found in the river’s sediment. “An initial conclusion from this study is that sediments are acting as a repository of GenX[-related compounds] that may be released into the overlying water column,” says a report on the studies sent to a state commission earlier this month. This means that sensitive ecosystems as well as drinking water utilities could continue to be affected by the pollution even if Chemours’s plant stops releasin...