Toxic Levels of "Forever Chemicals" Found in North Carolina Beaches — What Does This Mean?

Some of your favorite sparkling water brands may contain forever chemicals — such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS — and now, according to a report, PFAS have been detected along the shores of North Carolina beaches.

It seems that at this point in time, forever chemicals are inescapable due to their ubiquity in so many of the products we commonly use, let alone the massive amount of plastic waste that has infiltrated global waters.

What does it all mean that toxic levels of forever chemicals were discovered along the shores of North Carolina beaches? Does this portend immense doom, or is there still time to recover?

If you live near North Carolina, especially along the beach named below, you will want to pay attention. Continue reading below to learn more about the toxic levels of PFAS that were discovered in the water, and what this means for the future.

According to a report in Newsweek, the American Chemical Society (ACS) released the findings of a study along Cape Fear in North Carolina. Researchers "examined sea foam along North Carolina’s coast and found that PFAS can concentrate in levels thousands of times higher than in surrounding seawater."

Per the report in Newsweek, the Clean Cape Fear community group collected samples of the water at Cape Fear, and the group found "higher concentration of PFAS that exceed current drinking water limits" that are set forth by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

It is no wonder, then, that this report has caused such alarm, as communities are at immense risk of health concerns due to dangerous waters nearby.

The ACS expanded upon the Clean Cape Fear community group's findings by surveying 13 areas along the Cape Fear River and the surrounding coastline. ACS found 35 different PFAS in their samples from the expanded study.

“Our research shows that sea foam along North Carolina’s coast can concentrate PFAS to levels thousands of times higher than the surrounding seawater," according to the study's leader, Jeffrey Enders. "Monitoring these coastal environments is critical because contact with contaminated foam could pose unexpected risks to people and ecosystems.”

Sadly, these findings do not appear to be new, at least in the Cape Fear River area. Per the Tweet above from January 2023, "1.5 million North Carolina residents have been exposed to toxic PFAS Forever Chemicals in their drinking water."

Countless North Carolinians have no doubt been placed at risk by being exposed to such immensely toxic water for so many years.

"It is very important PFAS drinking water testing continues so we can attain a fuller understanding of where the contamination is occurring and where treatment methods may be needed to reduce exposures," Purdue University Toxicology Professor Jennifer Freeman told Newsweek.

On the heels of Climate Week in New York City, it is startling to consider that so many lives remain in danger due to exposure to toxic waters in North Carolina, yet no remedy is clear at this point.