Chemours Settles with EPA on “Forever Chemical” Pollution in Three States

WASHINGTON, D.C.  -- Chemical manufacturer Chemours has agreed to a multi-state settlement over its toxic ‘forever chemicals’ pollution at its North Carolina, West Virginia and New Jersey plants. Federal regulators say the company discharged PFAS in violation of its permits, and in some cases without a permit at all.  

The settlement directs Chemours to pay $450 million in fines, install pollution controls, and a 15-year PFAS mitigation process. In North Carolina, Chemours has been ordered to implement pollution controls at its Cumberland County facility where, in the 1970s, it started dumping PFAS waste into the Cape Fear River – a primary source of drinking water for over a million people in North Carolina’s coastal region. 

Following is a statement by Corinne Bell, senior attorney for Environmental Health at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):  

“PFAS have been linked to cancer and can cause other physical harms even in very small doses. This settlement is a drop in the bucket of Chemours' profits from PFAS. The harm done to our health and water supply by these ‘forever chemicals’ is massive, and the penalty should have reflected that. This settlement is not a serious effort by a corporate polluter to clean up its damage, and it puts polluter profits over human health”  

To date, utilities in the Wilmington area have spent over $240 million to remove PFAS from drinking water. Chemours reported $1.5 billion in net sales in its first quarter report.  

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).