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LITTLE HOCKING -- The concentration of GenX in Little Hocking's source water increased 500 percent from 2018 to 2019, but a carbon filtration system is keeping the chemical at non-detectable levels in treated water.
Still, Chemours, which owns the Washington Works plant where GenX is used in the production of Teflon, has agreed to test for the substance more frequently, an attorney representing the Little Hocking Water Association said.
The association's wellfield is located across the Ohio River from the Washington Works facility. GenX is part of the same family of perfluorinated compounds as C8, whose presence in area water systems has been a source of concern and litigation.
Little Hocking was among the water suppliers who had activated carbon filtration systems installed by DuPont as part of the settlement of a class-action lawsuit over C8, which also established a science panel that analyzed the health data of Mid-Ohio Valley residents. The panel found possible links between C8 and half a dozen diseases in humans.
C8 was replaced in the manufacturing process by GenX, which has also been detected in water sources near sites where it is used by Chemours, the company spun off from DuPont that now owns Washington Works.
Little Hocking Water customers recently received a notice from the utility informing them of the most recent GenX testing.
"The GenX in the pretreated water in our wellfield has increased by 500 percent over the past year," the letter says. "However, there is no evidence that GenX is getting through the current treatment system."
Testing requested by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and conducted by Chemours in February 2018 showed GenX in Little Hocking's pretreated water at a concentration of 32 parts per trillion.
The most recent sampling, on Jan. 21, showed a concentration of 150 parts per trillion, and "intervening sampling events have shown an overall increasing trend in the pretreated water," the letter says.
The non-detect levels were obtained at locations in the treatment plant both between and after the carbon beds, it says.
Dave Altman, a Cincinnati-based attorney who represents Little Hocking Water, said C8 testing is conducted every two weeks, while GenX levels are checked quarterly.
On Monday, he said, he received a letter from Chemours' counsel saying the company is willing to test for GenX every two weeks as well.
"We'll be able to see if there's any growth in the amount that the carbon's seeing and, God forbid, if anything gets through," Altman said, then reiterated, "There's no evidence that anything's gotten through."
A message seeking comment from Chemours had not been returned as of deadline Monday.
The most recent testing for GenX has returned non-detectable results before and after treatment at both the Parkersburg Utility Board and the Lubeck Public Service District.
"We tested last fall, and we're non-detect," PUB Manager Eric Bennett said. "It's not migrating the same way as C8, I guess."
The Lubeck testing was conducted in May 2018, General manager Rocky McConnell said.
"There (were) no traces of GenX detected in our wells," he said.
Vienna Mayor Randy Rapp said there has been no GenX detected in the city's untreated or treated water. The most recent testing came in May 2018.
"The bottom line is, there is no GenX in the water we send to our customers," he said.
A call to Belpre water officials was not immediately returned Monday, but the same round of 2018 testing that showed Little Hocking's concentration at 32 parts per trillion included non-detectable levels for Belpre before and after treatment.
The letter from Little Hocking notes that no federal regulatory level has been set for GenX exposure in water.
"North Carolina, currently the only state with a regulatory level, has set 140 ppt as the health goal of GenX in water," it says.
(Staff writer Brett Dunlap contributed to this story.)