"The EPA wants the city of 28,000 to rein in an industrial solvent, 1,4-Dioxane, from its wastewater discharges. So far, Asheboro has refused."
"ASHEBORO, N.C.—Some members of the public in attendance at the Environmental Protection Agency hearing last week called the City of Asheboro’s actions “despicable.” Others said they were “shameless.” And still another remarked that those who pollute the water—which data show Asheboro is doing—await “a special circle of hell.”
About 100 people gathered in a classroom at Randolph Community College where, despite the federal government shutdown, the EPA held the public hearing it deemed “mission critical” about Asheboro’s 1,4-Dioxane problem.
The problem, though, extends far beyond the city of 28,000 people in Randolph County. Studies from North Carolina State University show that North Carolina has some of the highest levels of 1,4-Dioxane, an industrial solvent and likely human carcinogen, in surface water in the country.
One of the hotspots is in the Upper Cape Fear River Basin, where Asheboro’s wastewater treatment plant has polluted the drinking water of 900,000 people living downstream with 1,4-Dioxane. Long-term exposure can damage the liver and kidneys."
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