NOV 13 2024 – In a statement released today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that 1,4 DIOXANE poses an “unreasonable risk of injury to human health” and can cause cancer and harm to liver and nasal tissue.

North Carolina has the 3rd highest measured concentration of 1,4-dioxane in drinking water in the nation, according to a risk assessment released this past May by the N.C. Dept. of Environmental Quality. North Carolinians are exposed to 1,4-dioxane concentrations that may be more than double the national average in drinking water and as much as four times the average in surface and groundwater. A UNC 1,4-Dioxane study found that out of 61 counties, Guilford County has the highest concentrations of 1,4 Dioxane in North Carolina. The Jamestowner compiled more than 22 years of 1,4 Dioxane local test results HERE. The high levels of 1,4-Dioxane at PTRWA Randleman Lake and Reservoir (our drinking water) come from THESE landfills, manufacturers and chemical companies that discharge into Deep River and it tributaries.

Today’s EPA report, a supplement to the agency’s 2020 risk evaluation, addresses more health concerns and provides the public with additional information and a more complete understanding of the risks presented by 1,4-dioxane.

People may be exposed to 1,4-dioxane through consumer products, by breathing it in when industrial facilities release 1,4-dioxane into the air, and through water. Water can be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane through industrial or commercial discharges and seepage, or when consumer and commercial products that contain 1,4-dioxane are washed down the drain or disposed of in landfills.

Ingesting or breathing 1,4-dioxane can cause cancer, liver toxicity, and adverse effects to nasal tissue.

While the EPA says 1,4-Dioxane does not pose an unreasonable risk to the ENVIRONMENT, 1,4-Dioxane does pose an unreasonable HEALTH risk to: (1) workers who handle 1,4-dioxane in manufacturing and industrial applications and who are exposed to commercial products containing 1,4-dioxane as a byproduct; and (2) people who live in communities near release sites or in areas where drinking water is sourced from smaller or slow-flowing streams that have been contaminated with 1,4-dioxane from industrial discharges and/or excessive down-the-drain releases of consumer products.

In addition to seepage and leaching from landfills, 1,4 Dioxane in drinking water comes from industrial discharges and leaching into streams and groundwater from the manufacturing and processing of chemicals, plastics, paint, lacquer, textile dyes, metalworking, printing compositions, polyurethane and detergent.

In response to these newly identified risks, the EPA says it will propose a new ruling under the Toxic Substances Control Act, and enact appropriate regulatory action under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Read more HERE.