Action Alert: Stop Toxic Pollution in Our Ohio River!
Stop Toxic Pollution in Our Ohio River!
The Chemours Company, a long-standing manufacturer of toxic PFAS chemicals at their Washington Works facility in Wood County, has been consistently out of compliance with environmental regulations.
Despite their claims of being a good neighbor, Chemours continues to profit from passing the cost of pollution onto our communities.
Now, Chemours is seeking a second permit to discharge additional PFAS chemicals, including Gen-X, into the Ohio River. The EPA has identified Gen-X as harmful to human health, even in small concentrations, linking exposure to cancer and other serious illnesses.
The Ohio River is already overburdened with PFAS chemicals, surpassing the EPA’s 2022 Interim Health Advisories.
The map above depicts community water systems where PFAS were detected in raw water supplies exceeding current health advisories. Highest concentrations are found in the Eastern Panhandle and the Ohio River Valley.
Parkersburg, West Virginia, and surrounding Wood County have some of the highest rates of low life expectancy and disability in the nation. Portions of Wood County are among the lowest-income communities in the United States, and healthcare costs from illness due to PFAS continue to pile up.
Today, we are asking you to help create a swimmable, fishable, and drinkable Ohio River that lives up to the promise of the Clean Water Act by holding polluters accountable to stop toxic contamination.
It’s time to hold Chemours accountable and reduce, not increase, toxic discharges into the Ohio River.
Thank you for standing up for communities facing environmental injustices.
-West Virginia Rivers Coalition
P.S. If you’ve already completed this action, will you forward this email or share the link to take action with five people to help spread the word? Here’s the link: https://wvrivers.salsalabs.org/no-more-pfas-discharge