Areas affected by GenX in Brunswick County

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Brunswick County will be the focus of the GenX discussion this week.

More than a month since the news about GenX came out, many people still have questions.

“My questions basically are have we found the effects and you know, at what point is it going to be safer to drink the water and what’s the plan pretty much from there?” Leland Resident Amy Shands said.

“How safe or unsafe is it going to be?” Leland Resident Mary Zagara said.

One of the frequently asked questions in Brunswick County is about the areas that are affected by GenX.

According to Brunswick County Public Utilities, most of the county’s water comes from the Northwest Water Treatment Plant which comes from the Cape Fear River where Genx is found. The county website said Bald Head Island, Caswell Beach, Oak Island, Southport, and St. James get their water from the 211 groundwater treatment plant.

“I’m not concerned about GenX as much as I am about the whole family of ‘plufluorides’ that are being put into the water,” Thearling said.

Glen Thearling, a Leland resident and a retired senior analyst at Duke Energy’s Nuclear Plant, will be a panelist at this week’s GenX forum in Brunswick County, but he still has some of his own questions.

“It shows a problem with the research and permitting process is where I’m really concerned,” Thearling said. “How can you come up with a chemical that hasn’t been studied and dump it in to the water is the real issue.”

Until Thearling gets certain answers, he has gotten a reverse osmosis unit for his home.

“We need some reassurances from the state level and federal about where we’re at and where we’re going,” Thearling said.

The forum is Wednesday, 7-9 p.m., at Odell Williamson Auditorium at Brunswick Community College in Bolivia. Doors open at 6 p.m.