North Carolina

PFAS level contaminate drinking water in over 20 counties in North Carolina

Published

1 year ago

August 24, 2023

PFAS level contaminate drinking water in over 20 counties in North Carolina

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) -How safe is your drinking water? A new report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that 20 new drinking water systems across North Carolina have been identified to exceed the proposed safe levels for toxic PFAS contaminants known as “forever chemicals.”

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), being exposed to PFAS chemicals can lead to cancer, thyroid diseases, weakened childhood immunity, and other health problems.

That is why the EPA proposed regulating lower levels of PFAS, but many counties in North Carolina are not meeting that level yet.

Water is an essential part of life.

However, a new report from the EPA shows that much of the country’s drinking supply is now contaminated with so-called forever chemicals known as PFAS, and despite efforts to filter it out of drinking water systems, experts say it’s not that simple.

Riley Lewis, the White Oak waterkeeper says, “Hopefully in the next couple of years we’ll be able to have safe drinking water. however, this is going to be very expensive and hard to implement for these water treatment facilities. especially since there are so many ways these pollutants are still entering our environment, groundwater, and our homes.

The EPA’s report shows that some of the affected sites are here in eastern North Carolina, including the Greenville Utilities Commission, Neuse Regional Water and Sewer Authority which covers Lenoir and Pitt Counties, and Martin Country Regional WASA.

It says that some of the chemicals detected were bromate, chloroform, and chromium, all of which are known to cause cancer.

Officials with the GUC say that’s why they are already taking steps to keep the water as clean as possible.

Steve Hawley, the public information officer at Greenville Utilities told WITN, “We’ll continue to do the testing that we have to do, we’ll continue to monitor other water treatment plants and see what they’re doing to lower the levels, and we’ll also stay in touch with water organizations to study the best practices.”

Researchers at East Carolina University say there are also steps individuals can take to be better prepared.

Jamie DeWitt, the ECU pharmacology and toxicology professor shared, “Arming yourself with information is the first step to reducing your exposure and reducing your health risk. find out where your water comes from, find out what type of filtration is used, find out if you need to install filtration, and then find out how you can minimize your exposure through products at your home.”

According to Professor Jamie Dewitt, people can purchase filtration systems with granular activated carbon filters or reverse osmosis to filter out most PFAS in the water.

Currently, there are only safety recommendations called health advisories for PFAS levels in drinking water.

The EPA has pledged to finalize PFAS drinking water standards by the end of the year and utilities will then likely have three to five years to comply.

Legal limits for contaminants in tap water have not been updated in almost two decades.

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Related Topics:contamination drinking Featured FILTER Greenville lenoir county pfas pitt county Utilities water

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North Carolina

NC Lottery Lucky For Life, Pick 3 Day results for Nov. 24, 2024

Published

2 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

The NC Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024 results for each game:

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Nov. 24 drawing

07-11-14-26-48, Lucky Ball: 15

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Nov. 24 drawing

Day: 2-7-2, Fireball: 8

Evening: 8-0-3, Fireball: 9

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Nov. 24 drawing

Day: 3-1-6-5, Fireball: 8

Evening: 6-9-0-6, Fireball: 9

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 5 numbers from Nov. 24 drawing

02-12-20-22-29

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Double Play numbers from Nov. 24 drawing

07-19-21-31-35

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All North Carolina Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599.

For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at North Carolina Lottery Offices. By mail, send a prize claim form, your signed lottery ticket, copies of a government-issued photo ID and social security card to: North Carolina Education Lottery, P.O. Box 41606, Raleigh, NC 27629. Prize claims less than $600 do not require copies of photo ID or a social security card.

To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a prize claim form and deliver the form, along with your signed lottery ticket and government-issued photo ID and social security card to any of these locations:

Asheville Regional Office & Claim Center: 16-G Regent Park Blvd., Asheville, NC 28806, 877-625-6886 press #1. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
Greensboro Regional Office & Claim Center: 20A Oak Branch Drive, Greensboro, NC 27407, 877-625-6886 press #2. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
Charlotte Regional Office & Claim Center: 5029-A West W. T. Harris Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28269-1861, 877-625-6886 press #3. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
NC Lottery Headquarters: Raleigh Claim Center & Regional Office, 2728 Capital Blvd., Suite 144, Raleigh, NC 27604, 877-625-6886 press #4. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Greenville Regional Office & Claim Center: 2790 Dickinson Avenue, Suite A, Greenville, NC 27834, 877-625-6886 press #5. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
Wilmington Regional Office & Claim Center: 123 North Cardinal Drive Extension, Suite 140, Wilmington, NC 28405, 877-625-6886 press #6. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://nclottery.com/.

When are the North Carolina Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 10:38 p.m. daily.
Pick 3, 4: 3:00 p.m. and 11:22 p.m. daily.
Cash 5: 11:22 p.m. daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Carolina Connect editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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North Carolina

Ustby, Donarski lead No. 16 North Carolina women over Villanova 53-36 in Battle 4 Atlantis semifinal

Published

10 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Ustby, Donarski lead No. 16 North Carolina women over Villanova 53-36 in Battle 4 Atlantis semifinal

Associated Press

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Alyssa Ustby and Lexi Donarski scored 14 points apiece, and Ustby added 14 rebounds to lead No. 16 North Carolina to a 53-36 victory over Villanova in a semifinal game at the Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis on Sunday.

The Tar Heels (5-1) play Indiana in the championship game on Monday. The Hoosiers upset No. 18 Baylor 73-65 in Sunday’s first semifinal.

Ustby made 6 of 8 shots from the floor with a 3-pointer for North Carolina on the way to her first double-double of the season. Donarski hit 6 of 10 shots with a pair of 3-pointers.

Maddie Webber led the Wildcats (4-2) with 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Lara Edmanson pitched in with 11 points and seven rebounds.

The Tar Heels held Villonova’s leading scorer Jasmine Bascoe to two points after she came in averaging 16.6 per game. Bascoe missed all seven of her shots — three from distance — and made 2 of 4 at the free-throw line.

Ustby had seven points and Donarski scored five to guide the Tar Heels to a 17-7 lead after one quarter.

Donarski scored five more in the third quarter to help North Carolina turn a 30-18 lead at halftime into a 44-23 advantage heading to the final period.

North Carolina shot 40% from the floor, made 5 of 17 from beyond the arc (29.4%) and 4 of 6 at the foul line.

Villanova shot 23.5% overall but made 5 of 18 from distance (27.8%) and 7 of 10 free throws.

The Tar Heels scored 15 points off of 21 Villanova turnovers. They turned it over 14 times but it led to only three points for the Wildcats.

North Carolina outscored Villanova 30-14 in the paint and never trailed.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

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North Carolina

People gather for NC Museum of History's annual American Indian Heritage Celebration in Raleigh

Published

19 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

People gather for NC Museum of History's annual American Indian Heritage Celebration in Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — November is Native American Heritage Month, and it’s a time to celebrate the traditions and cultures of the many Native American communities across North Carolina.

On Friday and Saturday, the North Carolina Museum of History held its annual American Indian Heritage Celebration. People learned about Native American history through live performances, food, art, storytelling and more.

Since the history museum is closed for renovation, the celebration was held at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

“Our songs, our dances, our stories, our language–it’s all medicine to us,” Community Programs Coordinator of NC Museum of History Kaya Littleturtle said at last year’s celebration. “Medicine is anything that makes you well be it physical, spiritual, emotional, all those things are medicine. We hope is that people come out here and they learn about those things, to help uplift us as a people. We hope that it inspires them to go get engaged with things to help uplift them as a people.

This was the 29th year of the celebration.

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