Fayetteville PWC urges DEQ to lower 1,4 dioxane in drinking water

Aug. 20--The Fayetteville Public Works Commission and other drinking water suppliers are urging the state to place tighter restrictions on Asheboro's wastewater treatment plant, where high levels of the probable carcinogen 1,4 dioxane are getting into the Cape Fear River.

In public comments to the state Department of Environmental Quality, Fayetteville, Sanford and Cary objected to the state's draft permit for Asheboro that would cap the treatment plant's release of 1,4 dioxane at 149 parts per billion and give the utility three years to achieve that goal.

The state has set a health standard for 1,4 dioxane in surface waters used for drinking at 0.35 parts per billion. At that amount, a person who ingests two liters of water a day over a lifetime would stand a 1 in 1 million chance of getting cancer. At 35 parts per billion -- the health advisory set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -- the risk increases to 1 in 10,000.

High levels of 1,4 dioxane have been detected in the drinking water for Fayetteville, Sanford, Pittsboro and other cities along the Cape Fear River, downstream of Asheboro and other cities in the Triad area where high levels of 1,4 dioxane have been detected leaving wastewater treatment plants. In February, the treated wastewater leaving the Asheboro plant measured 1,011 parts per billion -- nearly 2,900 times higher than the state's standard.

The level has declined considerably since then. The latest reading, in July, found 1,4 dioxane leaving Asheboro at 48 parts per billion, but officials say they don't know why. The levels routinely fluctuate.

High levels of 1,4 dioxane also have been detected leaving the wastewater treatment plants for Greensboro and Reidsville. State environmental officials have identified at least three industries and a defunct textile plant as sources. They say the industries are discharging 1,4 dioxane directly into the cities' sewer systems. The chemical winds up in the treatment plants, which are incapable of ridding it before being discharged.

Common uses of 1,4 dioxane include as a stabilizer in solvents, paint strippers and waxes. It also is found in the manufacture of antifreeze, cosmetics, shampoos and aircraft deicing fluids and as a byproduct in the manufacture of plastics, food products and packaging.

In Fayetteville, 1,4 dioxane was detected in drinking water at 1.4 parts per billion in May, 1.7 parts per billion in June and 0.84 parts per billion in July, said Mick Noland, the PWC's chief operations officer for water resources. All of those readings are far higher than the state's standard but considerably lower than what they have been in the past.

When the EPA first ordered testing for 1,4 dioxane in 2013, it was discovered in Glenville Lake, a source of PWC drinking water, at a level as high as 8.8 parts per billion, 25 times higher than the state's standard. In 2014, tests found an even higher concentration of 9.6 parts per billion at a PWC water source. The average concentration since May 2014 has been 2.5 parts per billion. That's still more than seven times higher than the state's surface water standard.

Linda Culpepper, the DEQ's director of the Division of Waste Management, said the division is working to finalize the permit for Asheboro's treatment plant. Culpepper said it is not yet known whether the DEQ will reduce the plant's discharge level of 1,4 dioxane from the proposed 149 parts per billion. She said the state is likely to give Asheboro less than three years to comply with whatever level the state does set.

Noland wrote in his comments to the DEQ that the state should hold a public hearing before it makes a decision. He said the proposed cap on Asheboro's discharge of 1,4 dioxane "appears to be at least 10 times higher than it should be to protect downstream water supplies."

"We believe the issue of 1,4 dioxane has been flying under the radar because of other emerging contaminant issues in the Cape Fear River and that many people are unaware of concerns over this contaminant," Noland said in his comments to the DEQ.

The presence of GenX, used to make Teflon and other non-stick coatings, has been found in high concentrations in the lower reaches of the river, below Fayetteville. The DEQ has reacted swiftly to that contamination, which was made public in June 2017. The presence of 1,4 dioxane has received much less attention, even though the chemical may be as dangerous to human health as GenX, if not moreso.

Culpepper said Asheboro's final permit will be used as a blueprint for re-issuing permits in Greensboro and Reidsville.

In Reidsville, the level of 1,4 dioxane leaving the wastewater treatment plant measured 40 parts per billion in June and 191.5 parts per billion in July.

Chuck Smith, Reidsville's director of public works, said he is visiting area industries to become better educated about their processes and to offer technical support through the DEQ's Waste Reduction Partners, a no-cost statewide program that helps develop strategies aimed at reducing the discharge of 1,4 dioxane and other emerging contaminants.

Culpepper said state and local authorities also are working on "product substitutions" to reduce or eliminate the levels of 1,4 dioxane. She called the efforts in Reidsville "very positive" and said Greensboro has been "a great leader" in its efforts to eliminate the chemical.

Michael Borchers, Greensboro's water resources director, did not respond to calls seeking comment and a report on the latest levels of 1,4 dioxane leaving its treatment plant. In June, Borchers said monthly monitoring since December found the highest level of the chemical at less than 27 parts per billion.

Bridget Munger, a spokeswoman for the DEQ, said Greensboro has reduced the amount of 1,4 dioxane leaving its treatment plant by more than 80 percent through reductions at the sources.

It appears that Asheboro has been less responsive. In a written statement to the DEQ concerning the draft permit, Water Resources Director Michael Rhoney wrote that while it is crucial that sources of the contamination be found, "Asheboro is not inclined to regulate an industry that may be discharging 1,4 dioxane." The reasons, Rhoney wrote, are inconclusive health effects of the chemical and "a lack of enforceable stream standards."

"The City of Asheboro continues to take this issue seriously and seeks to find the most reasonable resolution that benefits all parties," Rhoney wrote in an email.

The EPA's health advisory of 35 parts per billion for 1,4 dioxane is not legally enforceable. That means there is nothing to stop industries from pouring high concentrations of the chemical into the rivers, though many say they are trying to reduce their discharges.

Asheboro has identified one source of 1,4 dioxane, a company called StarPet that recycles plastic bottles.

"I have not had any correspondence with StarPet recently," Rhoney said in his email. "My understanding is they have done research to identify the best technology available as far as a treatment system. They should be nearing the completion of their design soon and plan to transition into construction immediately."

In June, StarPet spokesman Jason Greenwood said StarPet's parent company, Indorama, has completed an engineering study aimed at reducing 1,4 dioxane leaving its industries. On Thursday, Greenwood would say only that the company is on schedule with the project.

The 1,4 dioxane in Greensboro's water supply is not the only contaminant found there. Recently, high levels of per- and polyfluorinated substances -- commonly referred to as PFOA and PFOS -- have been discovered. The chemicals are believed to be coming from a former hazardous waste site at Piedmont Triad International Airport. Like 1,4 dioxane, PFOA and PFOS are not easily removed from drinking water.

It is not known whether significant concentrations of those chemicals are winding up in Fayetteville's drinking water. The PWC stopped testing for PFOA and PFOS after 2013 federal monitoring requirements expired and PWC found no detectable levels of the contaminants, Noland said.

Noland said PWC plans to participate in the N.C. Policy Collaboratory, which received $5 million in state funding to create the Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substance Testing network at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill'sGillings School of Public Health. Among other things, the program is helping to identify when and where contamination is occurring.

Nolan said PWC is also working with Detlef Knappe, a research scientist at N.C. State University who is evaluating drinking water treatment alternatives for 1,4-dioxane and perfluorinated compounds.

Culpepper said the DEQ has begun another study of 1,4 dioxane and bromides in the Cape Fear River basin. The levels of 1,4 dioxane in the Cape Fear are among the highest in the country.

Staff writer Greg Barnes can be reached at gbarnes@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3525.

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