GREENSBORO, NC -- The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality says it is investigating an August discharge of 1,4 dioxane reported by the City of Greensboro.
Director of Water Resources, Steven Drew, said the chemical came from Shamrock Environmental Corporation, a waste management company. A news release says the compound is often found in products such as paint strippers, antifreeze and dyes.
"There are, of course, a lot of products that we use and those products are also used in manufacturing so eventually it end up in the waste stream," Drew said.
Shamrock officials said in a release that the company treated and discharged 15,825 gallons of non-hazardous waste water from a customer that did not report it contained 1,4 dioxane. It also said, "Although this discharge did not violate federal, state or local water quality regulations, Shamrock immediately and voluntarily reported the issue to the City of Greensboro and ceased accepting this waste as soon as the problem was identified."
The incident prompted the DEQ to take weekly samples for the compound at Greensboro's Waterwaste Treatment Plant.
"We need them to keep theirs at low levels, and they have brought it under control since august and have been keeping their levels at what we consider low normal concentrations," Drew said.
Officials told us the treated water did not make it into the city's drinking water system, but did make it to communities downstream in the Cape Fear River Basin including Pittsboro, Fayetteville and Wilmington. Carolyn Justice-Henson with the Fayetteville Public Works Commission said identifying the source is bringing a solution closer.
"It is concerning for everybody because we hope that everyones going to be a good neighbor because we are all using the same drinking water," Justice-Henson said.
Officials said 1,4 dioxane still remains unregulated, but the EPA identifies it as a likely human carcinogen.
"My level on concern is exactly the same as the level of concern my counterparts downstream at different water utilities and for his and her customers," Drew explained.
Right now the City of Greensboro says it is working with DEQ to develop management strategies where the release of the can be minimized.
The North Carolina Division of Water Resources sent out letters to municipalities with pretreatment programs telling them to conduct screenings for 1,4 dioxane for three months starting back in July. Officials say it is part of an ongoing strategy to address the chemical compound in surface water and biosolids.