High amounts of a toxic chemical are being discharged into the Congaree and Cooper rivers from plastics factories in South Carolina, but state and federal regulators are doing little to control the pollution, a new report says.

A study by the Environmental Integrity Project, a national public interest organization, found that of eight similar plastics plants it studied, factories near Columbia and Charleston had some of the highest releases of 1,4- dioxane, a chemical tied to an array of health ailments, including cancer.

An Alpek Polyester plant in the Gaston area near Columbia released 23,728 pounds of 1,4-dioxane to the Congaree River in 2022, ranking it second in total releases behind only a plant in West Virginia that discharged 29,960 pounds. Alpek’s plant at Moncks Corner near Charleston released 9,756 pounds to the Cooper River, the report said.

But according to the report, there are no federal limits on how much 1,4-dioxane can be released from plastics plants. West Virginia only recently added state discharge limits for the plant in that state, the study said.

“This toxic pollution from plastic production is unacceptable,” Congaree Riverkeeper Bill Stangler said in a statement released by the Environmental Integrity Project. “Our federal and state agencies need to step up and protect our river and the downstream communities.”

Efforts to reach someone who could speak for Alpek were unsuccessful. The company, formerly known as DAK Americas, is part a corporation that employs nearly 4,000 people worldwide. At one time, the plant in the Gaston area had about 400 workers.

The S.C. Department of Environmental Services did not respond to questions on Thursday from The State, saying it could not discuss the 1,4-dioxane issue until a later date.

Stangler said the releases in the Columbia area are near Congaree National Park, a preserve filled with wildlife and the state’s only national park. The Alpek discharges to the Congaree River are below drinking water intakes in Columbia, West Columbia and Cayce, but Stangler said they are upstream from several drinking water pipes in the Santee Cooper lakes area southeast of Columbia.

The Environmental Integrity Project report, released Thursday, took a broader look at various discharges in wastewater released from 70 petrochemical and plastic plants that produce plastics across the country. The group focused on plastics because the industry is growing across the country. The plants were those that produced plastic materials for other plastic products.

Most of the plants studied in the United States have few, if any, government limits on the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, 1,4-dioxane, dioxins and other harmful pollutants discharged to rivers, the report said. The group’s study included data from the federal Toxics Release Inventory, an annual report that lists what the U.S. government considers legal pollution discharges.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says exposure to high levels of 1,4 dioxane can result in liver and kidney damage. Although the EPA was criticized for not doing enough to control discharges to rivers from plastics plants, the agency has said 1,4 dioxane is a probable human carcinogen.

In addition to concerns about 1,4-dioxane in South Carolina, the report questioned the environmental impacts of “nurdles,” tiny pellets used to manufacture other plastic materials. It said discharges of these materials into waterways are common. In 2021, a pellet packaging and shipping company settled a lawsuit for $1.2 million over nurdle releases to Charleston Harbor.

Environmental Integrity Project officials and others said the EPA needs to establish rules overseeing plastics pollution to rein in the environmental threat to rivers and drinking water across the country. They specifically called for requiring modern wastewater pollution controls at plastics plants, tightening rules for the release of plastic pellets and requiring better monitoring for 1,4-dioxane in water. The report also called on the EPA and state agencies to step up enforcement.

Whether any of that will happen is a big question.

The report took President Joe Biden’s administration to task for not doing enough about plastics discharges, but Biden has generally had a favorable environmental record. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to cut environmental regulations he says are hampering businesses.

During a news conference Thursday, Environmental Integrity Project director Jen Duggan said the government is mandated to enforce the Clean Water Act. Her organization maintains the federal government has not updated standards to limit water pollution from the plastics industry, as is required by law. She said courts generally have been unsympathetic to agencies that don’t follow the law.

“What’s important here is no matter what Trump’s plans are, Trump can not unilaterally waive away these kinds of mandatory, statutory requirements,” Duggan said. “This is a must-do under the statute and courts have generally had little patience for agencies that don’t comply with these kinds of mandatory obligations. The Clean Water Act has a very clear mandate to update these water pollution standards to keep pace with technology.”

She and others at the news conference suggested that more citizens’ lawsuits could be filed against the EPA. A citizens’ suit is a legal action that a person or organization can take if the government is not enforcing environmental laws.

“During the first Trump administration, we did see a pretty significant dip in the amount of enforcement cases that the EPA brought,” Duggan said. “So we do think that it will be very important for (environmental) groups … to fill that gap and hold these polluters accountable.”

The group’s findings about 1,4-dioxane being released in South Carolina aren’t isolated to plants along the Congaree and Cooper rivers.

Separately, a non-profit legal service has sued Fiber Industries LLC, a polyester manufacturer, over discharges of 1,4 dioxane to Black Creek, a well-known river in Darlington County east of Columbia.

The Southern Environmental Law Center, which represents four environmental organizations, is trying to stop what it says are excessive discharges to the creek. Reports examined by law center attorneys show the plant has discharged 1,4-dioxane into Black Creek at amounts 25,000 times higher than a safe drinking water standard, records show.

The Environmental Integrity Project report’s look at the Alpek factories in South Carolina said plastic plants, particularly those making a type of material known as PET, produce ample amounts of 1,4-dioxane. The PET material, formally known as polyethylene terephthalate plastic, is used to manufacture bottles and polyester fibers, the study said.

Overall, of the eight similar plastics facilities the report looked at, four of them produced 98% of the 1,4-dioxane pollution, including the plants in the Columbia and Charleston areas. Another plant in South Carolina, located in Spartanburg, was eighth on the list.

2024 The State. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Chris Arias had 19 points in Jacksonville’s 71-62 win over South Carolina State on Thursday night.

Arias went 7 of 9 from the field (5 for 6 from 3-point range) for the Dolphins (2-2). Zach Bell scored 18 points while going 7 of 14 (4 for 6 from 3-point range) and added eight rebounds. Robert McCray, Kendall Munson and Zimi Nwokeji all had nine points.

Omar Croskey finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals for the Bulldogs (2-2). Drayton Jones added 12 points for South Carolina State. Mitchel Taylor finished with 10 points and two steals.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s nonconference schedule this season is heavily weighted toward the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. In the Bahamas, the Hoosiers will face Louisville first and could see No. 4 Gonzaga and No. 9 Arizona later.

That makes Saturday’s game against South Carolina Indiana’s only nonconference game against a power conference opponent at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The rest of the slate consists of mid-major opponents the Hoosiers should handle.

The Gamecocks are off to a 2-1 start and lost a few critical pieces from last year’s team, which finished second in the SEC and earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament under coach Lamont Paris. After being ranked for eight weeks last season, South Carolina is outside the AP Top 25 poll and ranked No. 61 nationally by KenPom this year.

While it may not be the marquee opponent Indiana has hosted in recent seasons, like North Carolina or Kansas, a team from the SEC like South Carolina provides the Hoosiers with a test prior to Big Ten play.

Here’s a full breakdown of the Gamecocks.

Key returners

Key newcomers

Key departures 

(2023-24 stats)

2024-25 Schedule

Head coach Lamont Paris

South Carolina is in its third season under coach Lamont Paris. The Gamecocks went 11-21 in his first year, but they were one of the nation’s most improved teams in 2023-24, going 26-8 and finishing tied for second in the SEC standings at 13-5. Unranked in the preseason, South Carolina made the final eight AP Top 25 polls and peaked at No. 11 in the nation. The Gamecocks earned a No. 6 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament but lost 87-73 in the Round of 64 to No. 11 seed Oregon. Paris, 50, was named 2024 SEC Coach of the Year and was one of four finalists for the Naismith national coach of the year award. 

Paris previously coached at Chattanooga, where he went 87-72 and reached the NCAA Tournament during the 2021-22 season. Prior to his first head coaching job with the Mocs, Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin, Akron, Indiana University-Pennsylvania, DePauw and Wooster. He played at Wooster, a Division III program in Ohio, from 1992-96.

Strengths

South Carolina is led by power forward Collin Murray-Boyles, who’s projected to go No. 14 overall in ESPN’s latest 2025 NBA mock draft. Murray-Boyles is a 6-foot-8, 245-pound sophomore who averages a team-high 20.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman team last season and has elevated his game in the early stages of this season, nearly doubling his scoring and rebounding averages.

Murray-Boyles also averages 2.0 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game, contributing all over the floor for the Gamecocks. He’s an efficient scorer around the rim, shooting 62.9% from the field this season, though he’s not a 3-point shooting threat – 0-for-5 in his college career. Indiana’s Malik Reneau will likely draw the matchup on Murray-Boyles, and it’ll be important for him to stay out of foul trouble in Saturday’s game.

After losing starting guards Meechie Johnson and Ta’Lon Cooper, senior Jacobi Wright has played a larger role this season. He has started 25 games across his first three seasons at South Carolina, but mostly came off the bench last season. Wright is averaging 16 points through three games this year, with an impressive 7-for-15 start from 3-point range. 

As a team, South Carolina’s defense has held opponents to a 41.1% effective field goal percentage, which ranks 32nd nationally. After its season-opening loss to North Florida, Towns shot just 29.6% from the field and South Carolina State shot 35.8%.

Weaknesses

South Carolina began the season with a home loss to North Florida, which could prove costly down the road. In a 74-71 loss, the Gamecocks left a lot of points out there by making just 14-of-25 free throws. They struggled from 3-point range, too, making 5-of-16 attempts. Murray-Boyles is usually a reliable scorer around the basket, but he went 6-for-15 against North Florida, just the sixth time in his college career he’s shot 40% or worse from the field.

South Carolina also allowed 13 offensive rebounds against North Florida and was out-rebounded 37-34 in total. North Florida finished 10-for-29 from 3-point range, seven of which came from bench players. North Florida followed that up with wins over Charleston Southern and Georgia Tech, and it played Georgia tough, too. But that loss will be a blemish on South Carolina’s resume all year. 

Across three games, South Carolina has had no issue getting to the free throw line, as it ranks 52nd nationally in attempt rate. But it hasn’t cashed in on those opportunities, ranking 231st in free throw percentage. The Gamecocks also play at a slow pace and are ranked 308th in adjusted tempo, so they’re not getting many easy points in transition. Opponents are also averaging 15.3 offensive rebounds per game, putting South Carolina 352nd in that category.

Season outlook

South Carolina won 26 games last season, which matched a program record with coach Frank Martin’s team that reached the 2017 Final Four. Many considered Lamont Paris to have done one of the nation’s best coaching jobs last season. But after losing three of its top four scorers, the Gamecocks are expected to take a step back in Paris’ third season. That’s already been seen with their season-opening loss to North Florida.

South Carolina was picked to finish 11th out of 16 teams in the preseason SEC poll, behind nine teams that made the preseason AP Top 25 poll. South Carolina has some high-level talent with players like Murray-Boyles, Wright and Alabama transfer Nick Pringle, but it may not have the depth to make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 1997-98.