CHARLOTTE — North Carolina regulators are moving forward with a plan to monitor but not limit pollution from what are called PFAs, or forever chemicals.
Those are manmade chemicals often found in Teflon or waterproof clothing that do not break down in the environment. They have also been linked with higher cancer rates.
The Environment Management Commission’s Water Quality Committee advanced a draft rule that would require factories to monitor, report, and create management plans for the pollutants.
However, it does not require enforceable goals to limit that pollution.
Jean Zhuang with the Southern Environment Law Center said that will not be enough to protect North Carolinians.
“If industrial PFAs pollution isn’t controlled, somebody’s going to pay for it. And if these industries aren’t paying for it, then it’s going to be the North Carolina line of families that pay for it,” Zhuang said.
The Department of Environmental Quality said this rule is meant to work in tandem with federal and state rules, which already set limits on forever chemicals in drinking water.
The Environmental Management Commission will likely vote on the final rule later this evening.
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