Local advocate testifies before Congress on impact of PFAS on the Cape Fear region

WASHINGTON D.C. (WWAY) — An advocate from the Cape Fear who has helped elevate North Carolina’s ongoing PFAS contamination crisis answered questions from Congressional lawmakers in Washington D.C. Thursday morning.

Emily Donovan is the co-founder of the grassroots group Clean Cape Fear and testified before the House Subcommittee on Environment.

Thursday’s hearing was held to discuss whether concerns about P-FAS would prevent so-called brownfield sites, or places across the country with environmental contamination, from being developed again.

This is not the first time Donovan has testified before this particular committee.

She addressed congressional lawmakers seven years ago, after the issue of PFAS and Gen X first surfaced in the Cape Fear region.

During her testimony today, several committee members asked Donovan questions, like the difference between Gen-X and older PFAs chemicals.

Donovan spoke about the impact these chemicals have had on her family and friends.

“I watched my husband survive a brain tumor,” Donovan said. “I also buried friends my age who shared their illnesses with this very room 7 years ago. Some of us don’t have the luxury of time to keep redirecting the focus away from real solutions. Please do not let Tom, Amy, Chris, and Sarah die in vain.”

Donovan said the top three things she wants Congress to do are end all exposures to PFAS, make polluters pay, and find out the actual health risks related to these chemicals.