GREENSBORO, N.C. — A North Carolina city has stopped pumping water from a water treatment plant after finding high levels of toxic chemicals, perhaps from firefighting foam.
The Greensboro News & Record reports additional water samples were taken for testing Monday from the Greensboro Mitchell Water Treatment Plant.
A July test at the plant found PFOS and PFAS levels 10 parts per trillion higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's advised exposure levels. The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry says the chemicals are dangerous at levels around 10 times lower than the EPA's 70 parts-per-trillion standard.
Department of Water Resources Assistant Director Mike Borchers says a temporary fix that uses carbon to filter out the chemicals will be implemented by mid-September.
