How often do you think about the trash after it's picked up and hauled away by your local sanitation crew? Many people know trash goes to a landfill and figure it's buried to biodegrade or it's incinerated. What if there was trash that couldn't be destroyed at all? Not only that what if this trash was in your water? Seems like a nightmare scenario right?
GenX is a bi-product of other chemicals that come into contact with water. The chemicals that create this bi-product have been used for over 20yrs to create products that resist water and oil. Recently scientists have found traces of GenX and other chemicals in the Cape Fear River. This river is a drinking supply for many counties in North Carolina. Scientists have found that GenX is not biodegradable. It loves water and remains stables no matter what the temperature.
There are no natural enzymes that can break down this chemical. Long story short. Once it's in your water it stays there forever.
Small amounts have been linked to other chemicals that produce cancer. Water sampled in Wilmington a city near the Cape Fear River have been higher than allowed but nothing that is causing wide spread alarm yet. The source of this problem has been traced back to a DuPont Chemours Plant. The dumping of GenX has been going on for decades, the company last summer decided to stop dumping GenX in June 2017. This bi-product is not regulated so there are no regulations on how much can be dumped where.
What can be done?
The only known way to clean the water from GenX is to purify it through reverse osmosis. You can buy a purifying system for your home but it's not very practical and takes expertise to setup properly and maintain that it's working right.
The sad part is folks this isn't the only place stuff like this happens. You might be getting a chemical dumped where you live that's contaminating the food you eat or the water you drink. Nothing stops the companies from doing it if the contaminant is unregulated. Scary to say the least. I'll try to keep you updated on where this story goes.
