WILMINGTON, N.C. — The water pollution problem in Wilmington is rearing its ugly head again following a series of "Good Neighbor" advertisements by Chemours — the company that was found responsible for contaminating the Cape Fear River.
What You Need To Know
The Chemours Company operates a plant on the Cape Fear River just outside Fayetteville
In 2021 the state found Chemours responsible for water pollution in New Hanover County
In November 2021, Chemours started running an ad campaign promoting being good neighbors
Many people have had a strong response to the ads, including New Hanover County government on Twitter where they cited Chemours as “the neighbor who plays loud music, blocks your driveway and dumps their garbage on your lawn.”
But the deeper perspective comes from Dr. Larry Cahoon, a biology professor at UNC Wilmington who sees the ongoing water pollution as a personal battle.
“Even as a little kid I despised trash and debris and litter and all the other things that could pollute the water, not just the visible things, but the invisible things,” Cahoon said. “I just think it's completely wrong for polluters to trash the public's water supply and our recreational waters for their own profits.”
Chemicals have been entering drinking water for New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties since the 1980s but were first reported in 2017. Cahoon shared that these specific chemicals known as PFAS don't break down over time and instead remain in the environment forever.
“Even after they knew that these compounds could be toxic to humans, could cause liver damage, cancers, hormone imbalances, things like that, they continued to do it because it was a cheap way to get rid of their waste,” Cahoon said.
In a statement from the company, Chemours shared that they started the ad campaign to generate public awareness regarding their efforts to reduce emissions and continue remediation work. They want the public to know they are doing their part and hope others will do the same.
“Listening to Chemours talk about being good neighbors is galling,” Cahoon said. “It's like 'Where were you as good neighbors back when?'”
The water pollution impacts everyone in the Cape Fear River basin, but Cahoon and other scientists are dealing with it firsthand in their research on water quality.
“My colleagues in chemistry found that GenX and other compounds were coming out of the sky in rainfall and dry deposition,” Cahoon said. “With toxic chemicals, quite a lot of them move up food chains. The more we look, the more we find, and that's terrible.
Chemours has paid $12 million in fines to the state since 2017 and is also being required to revamp the Fayetteville facility to properly dispose of chemical waste. Research is ongoing to understand the long-term impacts of the compounds for those in the affected areas.
“I can't speak for everybody, but I don't give them permission to pollute my drinking water, my air and so forth,” Cahoon said. “And if we're the poster child on how to make it stop and not happen again well so be it.”