Pressuring the EPA to Act on PFAS Contamination
For decades, DuPont and its current spin-off, The Chemours Company, have been releasing dangerous PFAS chemicals into the drinking water of North Carolina communities like Wilmington and Pittsboro. We know that exposure to some PFAS can cause disastrous health effects like cancer, thyroid disease, birth defects, and immune system suppression. However, health and environmental effects data for most PFAS are not available. In the fall of 2020, CEH’s North Carolina (NC) office and our NC partners submitted a petition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) demanding that it take long-overdue action on PFAS pollution in Cape Fear communities. The petitioners asked the EPA to require the polluter, Chemours, to fund comprehensive health and environmental effects testing on 54 PFAS chemicals discharged into the Cape Fear River from its production facility in Fayetteville. In January 2021, the Trump EPA denied the petition and we have since asked the Biden EPA to reconsider the denial. At the time of publication of this report, we have requested a personal meeting with the newly confirmed EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
"All people have the right to clean air, clean water, pollution-free, and thriving vibrant communities. At NC Black Alliance, we are standing as plaintiffs in this case because we know the grave impact it has held on communities-of-color. This is apparent when we see that 56% of residents living within a 2-mile radius of toxic waste facilities are people-of-color. The cumulative impact and dangers of PFAS on low-wealth communities and communities-of-color are immeasurable."
- La’Meshia Whittington Campaigns Director, NC Black Alliance
Raising Environmental Health in the 2020 Election
In our second virtual town hall, we brought together leaders on the frontlines of climate change and environmental health and justice to discuss why the 2020 election was more important than ever. The panel included Barbara Boxer, former U.S. Senator of California; Tamara Toles O'Laughlin, North America Director of 350.org; and Mustafa Santiago Ali, Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization for the National Wildlife Federation. We also partnered with Democracy Initiative and 350.org to engage staff and CEH volunteers in non-partisan get-out-the-vote phone banks.
