Tell US EPA: No More GenX Waste
EPA Administrator Regan
Hi Friends,
Through investigative reporting by Lisa Sorg, we learned the US EPA re-authorized Chemours to import GenX waste from its Netherlands facility to Fayetteville Works in North Carolina. Since learning this news in mid-October, Clean Cape Fear has been working behind the scenes with our local and state leaders/partners to stop these dangerous imports.
We're also in the process of seeking redress from human rights violations due to PFAS contamination from Chemours' Fayetteville Work Facility. We submitted a complaint to the United Nations in April--which included concerns about historic PFAS waste shipments from the Netherlands to North Carolina.
On Nov. 7, 2023, the US EPA notified the public it had requested Chemours pause these waste shipments from the Netherlands while the EPA re-examined its authorization. Chemours agreed to a temporary pause until December 1, 2023. While this is a good step--we need long term security.
Clean Cape Fear is asking residents to sign our petition/letter to EPA Administrator Regan encouraging the EPA to permanently halt PFAS waste imports to North Carolina and all states. The United States should not become the global dumping ground for the world's PFAS waste. Every country should be responsible for managing its own PFAS waste disposal within its existing borders. If nations cannot do this responsibly, then each country should continue to reduce dependency on PFAS and invest in safer Green Chemistry alternatives.
Please sign our letter ASAP and share it widely with your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.
With gratitude,
Clean Cape Fear Leadership Team
Sponsored by
To:
EPA Administrator Regan
From:
[Your Name]
Honorable Michael Regan
Administrator
US Environmental Protection Agency
Mail Code 1101A
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20460
Re: Imports of GenX Wastes by Chemours
Dear Administrator Regan,
Clean Cape Fear represents communities that are deeply affected by the ongoing environmental challenges related to GenX and PFAS contamination. We commend the EPA's recent efforts to establish a GenX Health Advisory Level and propose first-ever PFAS drinking water standards. However, we are deeply troubled by the recent approval allowing Chemours to ship GenX waste from its Netherlands facility to Fayetteville Works in North Carolina.
For over forty years, we believe Chemours and DuPont have knowingly, maliciously, and continually treated the people of our region as a PFAS sacrifice zone and violated our basic human rights. The water we drink, the soil we use to plant, the air we breathe, and the beaches we enjoy are contaminated with these forever chemicals. We believe these PFAS exposures are impacting our rights under international humanitarian laws including the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, right to clean, healthy water, right to life, health, and life with dignity, right to bodily integrity, right to information, and access to justice and effective remedies.
While Chemours profits, our communities are forced to bear the physical, financial, and emotional burdens of dealing with the consequences. We are left to self pay for expensive filtration systems to ensure basic access to clean water. We are watching loved ones get sick and die while medical bills pile up for illnesses we worry were caused by our extreme PFAS exposures.
We fully support the bipartisan letters written to the EPA by our Governor, New Hanover County Commissioners, and Brunswick County Commissioners. We urge the EPA to go further and permanently halt all international PFAS waste shipments to the United States. Additionally, we request the EPA expedite the rule-making process to designate GenX and other PFAS as hazardous substances under both the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
We also urge the EPA to universally adopt a definition for PFAS as “one fully fluorinated carbon atom” which is recognized by 18 states and adopted into federal law within the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act. Doing this would close a dangerous regulatory loophole that benefits companies like Chemours at the expense of our health, well-being, and human rights.
The adverse effects on our community's health and environment demand immediate and decisive action. We appreciate the EPA's commitment to protecting public health and the environment, and we trust that you will consider the urgency of our request. Your prompt attention to this matter is crucial for the well-being and human rights of our community members.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to seeing meaningful actions taken to address this pressing issue.
With gratitude,
Clean Cape Fear & Concerned Residents