The results are in.
FreshPure® Waters is, and has always been, GenX Free.
By: Heather Vaughan, L.Ac, MSOM, C.Ay, CYT
Concerned customers in Wilmington, North Carolina have been calling us, requesting third-party lab tests to ensure that FreshPure® Waters is GenX free. We take this level of concern very seriously. We performed tests at our locations in both Wilmington Whole Foods and the Tidal Creek Co-op in February to find out for sure. The lab reported GenX “Not Detected.”
What’s Going on in Wilmington, North Carolina?
A chemical called GenX has been found in the Cape Fear River. Nearly half a million Wilmington area residents have come to realize their water is contaminated and has been for a very long time. The situation has been consistently making national news since the summer of 2017.
As the legal battle unfolds, advocates, scientists, and politicians rally to create awareness and change. In the meantime, Wilmington residents are seeking a safe source for water.
What is GenX & Why are People Concerned?
According to the EPA, GenX is an unregulated chemical. It was created to replace PFOA, a chemical used commonly in nonstick cookware, food packaging, electronics, and carpets. It was phased out in 2003 due to negative potential health effects. Research shows a probable link between PFOA and several illnesses including:
- ulcerative colitis
- pregnancy-induced hypertension
- high cholesterol
- thyroid disease
- low birth weights in babies
- kidney and testicular cancer
PFOA and GenX are extremely similar in chemical structure. Experts and residents alike are concerned that GenX may cause similar health issues.
How Does GenX Affect Me?
One might suspect that unregulated chemicals pose a potential threat. While the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Act requires testing of roughly 200 contaminants. There are 85,000 registered chemicals, like GenX, that are not required to be tested under the Safe Water Drinking Act. On top of that, there are literally hundreds of thousands of chemicals yet to be registered.
“With the development of more and more new chemicals, it’s really difficult for the public to just rely on the regulators to assure that the drinking water stays safe… (GenX is) one of about 85,000 such chemicals registered in the United States that are not tested for in drinking water.”
-PBS News Hour, Hari Sreenivisan
It can easily take years to discover contaminants, test them, and ultimately create protective legislation. In Wilmington, scientists affiliated with the EPA’s National Exposure Research Laboratory dedicated three years of study to the Cape Fear River before identifying GenX in the water. The same group currently awaits approval to study its health effects. All the while, very little can be done.
FreshPure® Waters: Protecting you from Unregulated Contaminants
The good news is, our equipment is designed to remove chemicals such as GenX as well as hundreds of thousands of unregulated contaminants. We began offering water at Whole Foods Wilmington in 2012, and Tidal Creek Coop in 2013. Our Wilmington customers who happen to have been drinking FreshPure® Waters for its fresh, clean taste have been protected from GenX this entire time.
It makes us feel really good that we are able to share this information with you. And, that there is a place for Wilmington residents to find safe water.
Sources:
CBS News: N.C. drinking water tainted with chemical byproduct for decades?
PBS: How an unregulated chemical entered a North Carolina community’s drinking water
North Carolina Health News: Local Scientists Uncovered Cape Fear River GenX Story
The News & Observer: Former Wilmington mayor: ‘I think we shouldn’t be drinking the water.’
Timeline of Events: Clean Cape Fear Timeline
Local Resources: