Chemours is importing GenX chemicals from Europe to North Carolina

The Environmental Protection Agency will allow Chemours to import waste containing “forever chemicals” from its facility in the Netherlands to its North Carolina plant.

A September letter from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows its consent to a July notification from Chemours detailing the company’s intent to ship up to 4,409,245 pounds of waste containing GenX from its facility in Dordrecht to Fayetteville Works.

The decision comes after a Dutch court found Chemours liable for environmental damage from forever chemical pollution from its Netherlands facility. The company’s executives are currently under criminal investigation in the Netherlands for “deliberate release of PFAS” from its plant there since 1967.

GenX is a type of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Chemours was found to have dumped PFAS chemicals into the Cape Fear River, a drinking water supply for nearly 1.5 million North Carolinians, and the compounds have been found in more than 12,000 private wells.

A Chemours spokesperson said in a statement that the company plans to recycle and reuse the chemicals. The company did not respond to questions about its recycling process and if the shipments could impact its contamination to surrounding communities.

“EPA is not required to provide advance notification to the state,” said Sharon Martin, NC DEQ Deputy Secretary for Public Affairs. “DEQ continues to allocate the staff and resources needed to address Chemours-related PFAS contamination and actions to protect the affected communities of North Carolina.”

The EPA’s toxicity assessment of GenX chemicals cites animal studies that have linked exposure to health effects on the liver, kidneys, immune system, development of offspring, and an association with cancer. The EPA has also issued a health advisory about GenX and proposed drinking water standards, which Chemours has challenged in court.