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Vienna approves filter agreement with Chemours

VIENNA — Two years ago, a change in the safe level of C8 in drinking water led to the installation of activated carbon filters in Vienna’s water treatment system to remove any traces of the chemical from water supplies.

In a special meeting Tuesday the Vienna City Council approved an operations and maintenance agreement with Chemours. Mayor Randy Rapp said Chemours will pay for all costs associated with the two filter stations installed in the summer of 2016.

“There is no time limit,” he said. “As long as the consent order from the EPA is still in effect, our operation and maintenance agreement will be in effect.”

In a unanimous vote, with two council members absent, a resolution to authorize the mayor to execute the agreement with the company was approved.

Recorder Cathy Smith and Councilman Jim Leach were not present for the meeting.

Two years ago, Chemours agreed to foot the bill for the installation of water filters in the city’s water treatment plant.

Activated carbon filters remove traces of perflurooctanoic acid, also known as PFOA and C8, from water supplies. They were installed at local water service districts in West Virginia and Ohio as part of a settlement of a 2001 lawsuit alleging DuPont of releasing the chemical.

An advisory to not drink water from the Vienna Water Department was issued after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency dropped the safe level of C8 from 0.4 parts per billion to 0.07 parts per billion.

Until 2013, C8 was used in the manufacture of Teflon at the DuPont Washington Works plant south of Parkersburg along the Ohio River. In 2015, DuPont spun off its performance chemicals division, of which Teflon is among a number of products, into Chemours.

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