DALTON, Ga. - Georgia plans to begin statewide sampling this year at drinking water intakes for perfluorooctanoic acid, according to a program manager of the Environmental Protection Division. The acid is labeled a "likely carcinogen" by a federal panel and is found in the Conasauga River.
DALTON, Ga. - Georgia plans to begin statewide sampling this year at drinking water intakes for perfluorooctanoic acid, according to a program manager of the Environmental Protection Division.
The acid is labeled a "likely carcinogen" by a federal panel and is found in the Conasauga River.
"We're trying to be proactive," said Jane Hendricks, program manager for the permitting compliance and enforcement program of the division's watershed protection branch.
Ms. Hendricks said the acid, called PFOA or C8, lacks "a lot of standards out there telling us how much is safe yet."
"If we collect data and know what's out there, (then) when the risk assessments are complete, we'll have data to compare to the standards," she said.
The substance is used by some companies in the Dalton carpet industry, which produces 80 percent of the nation's carpets, to make stain-repellent floor coverings, according to EPA and industry reports. The chemical also is used to manufacture nonstick cookware and outdoor clothing.
In 2006, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advisory board labeled the chemical a "likely carcinogen." EPA reports also state the substance has been linked to problems such as low-weight babies.
EPA officials note that products made with PFOA are safe.
A research study by University of Georgia graduate students found high levels of the legal chemical in the Conasauga River. The river borders Dalton's federal- and state-approved Loopers Bend Wastewater Treatment Plant, where the city's waste is sprayed on 9,200 acres of forest land to decompose.
Ms. Hendricks said state regulators will receive federal money for the sampling. She said attention being paid to PFOA concerns in Dalton has prompted the state potentially to explore reported problems at the river near the wastewater treatment plant.
Dalton Utilities President Don Cope said trying to understand how to manage a potential environmental and health hazard will not be easy, especially since many carpet companies use the substance.
"To be honest with you, I don't know (how to deal with it)," he said.
Mr. Cope said state environmental protection officials essentially have told him he can expect eventually to have to help regulate PFOA.
"They were advising me there was going to be a (regulatory) requirement," he said.
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