North Carolina, like many other states, has had its fair share of environmental disasters. It is one thing when a disaster happens by accident; it is another thing entirely when it is allowed to happen on purpose. On January 22, 2025, the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce sent Senator Thom Tillis a letter urging him to use his role as a representative of North Carolinians to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from intervening in the state’s current 1,4-dioxane dispute. The dispute involves the City of Asheboro, which discharges their wastewater into Hasketts Creek, a tributary of the Deep River in the Cape Fear River Basin. Now, discharging wastewater into river systems is nothing new: it has to go somewhere, and rivers are an easy way to get the water out of sight and out of mind. Over the past few decades, though, more and more chemical compounds found in wastewater have been discovered to be toxic to people. One might assume that, since the chemicals are in water that has already been used, it is not a problem if these chemicals are present, right? Well, that is not the case. You see, many of these chemicals, including 1,4-dioxane, remain in the water, soil, and air for years. 1,4-dioxane, once in water, never breaks down into less toxic compounds. 1,4-dioxane, and other toxic chemicals, that get discharged into the Cape Fear River Basin flow downstream…and right into the drinking water supply for thousands of North Carolinians.
Of course, it is important to mention that wastewater treatment plants, including the City of Asheboro’s, are just that: they treat wastewater, and are typically not the source of any toxins present in the water. In fact, the only thing most wastewater treatment plants treat in the water before discharging it is coliform bacteria. So, where could the 1,4-dioxane come from? This compound is utilized in the manufacturing process for plastics, and there is only one company in the Asheboro area, Starpet, that makes plastic bottles. 1,4-dioxane is a common by-product of plastic manufacturing, but it is also utilized during the process. However, it is also suspected that some of the 1,4-dioxane is coming from landfill leachate. Landfill leachate is formed when rainwater filters through the waste in the landfill. As it flows through the waste, it draws out, or leaches, chemicals and constituents present in the waste materials. Now, solid waste landfills are supposed to have a liner that protects the groundwater and underlying soil from the leachate, in addition to leachate collection and removal systems, which collect the leachate for treatment and disposal. However, those systems do not always work, and leachate contains all sorts of toxins that are hazardous to people’s health.
Since rivers are a major — and sometimes only — source of drinking water for huge swaths of the population, as more toxins are identified and studied, more regulations are put in place so that the maximum amount found in discharged water is an acceptable level. That means the compound is at levels low enough that, according to the current research, it does not pose a direct health threat. As more research is performed, acceptable levels are often adjusted. Currently, it is known that 1,4-dioxane has been linked to cancer in mice and rats exposed to it throughout their lives. In humans, short-term exposure causes eye and nose irritation; long-term exposure, while still being studied, is believed to be linked to liver and kidney cancer. Both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the International Agency for Research on Cancer list 1,4-dioxane has having an increased potential in being a human carcinogen. According to the CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the level of 1,4-dioxane in water linked to a 1 in 10,000 chance of getting cancer is only 300 parts per billion in drinking water. The levels of this toxin found in the treated wastewater from Asheboro in January of 2025 varied from 2,200 parts per billion to 3,520 parts per billion, with the sample collected by the City of Asheboro Wastewater Treatment Facility receiving that higher score of 100 times over the CDC recommended limit. In comparison, the City of Greensboro, which also had a 1,4-dioxane problem in the recent past, ramped up their water sampling and started cracking down on industries that utilized the compound. In the first three four months of 2023, their highest concentration was hovering around 5 parts per billion.
If the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce gets its way, North Carolina will not have any regulations for 1,4-dioxane levels in wastewater discharge. This means private and public entities can release as much as they want without penalty, and in turn, everyone downstream from the discharge points will be exposed. This chemical harms everyone from all walks of life, business owners included. The Chamber, according to their website, works to “proactively drive positive change, ensuring that North Carolina is one of the best places in the world to do business.” Trying to run a business in an area where the drinking water contains unlimited quantities of 1,4-dioxane does not sound like one of the best places in the world to do business. Asking our senator to push for the de-regulation of a toxic chemical in wastewater discharge does all our business owners a disservice. Reach out to your elected officials and Senator Thom Tillis and let them know that you do not support the prevention of 1,4-dioxane regulations in North Carolina.
Sources:
CDC Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Public Health Statement for 1,4 Dioxane. https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/PHS/PHS.aspx?phsid=953&toxid=199
CDC Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Toxicological Profile for 1,4-Dioxane. https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxProfiles/ToxProfiles.aspx?id=955&tid=199
Castagno, Peter. “North Carolina Chamber asks Sen. Tillis to help prevent 1,4-dioxane regulation.” Port City Daily. 17 February 2025. https://portcitydaily.com/latest-news/2025/02/17/north-carolina-chamber-asks-sen-tillis-to-help-prevent-14-dioxane-regulation/
Jones, Sonny. “NCDEQ identifies elevated 1,4-Dioxane levels in Asheboro WWTP’s Wastewater.” Bladen Online. 8 February 2025. https://bladenonline.com/ncdeq-identifies-elevated-14-dioxane-levels-in-asheboro-wwtps-wastewater/
North Carolina Chamber of Commerce. “About Us.” North Carolina Chamber of Commerce. https://ncchamber.com/about/
Sorg, Lisa. “Investigations into spikes of 1,4-Dioxane in Asheboro, High Point still inconclusive.” NC Newsline. 21 July 2023. https://ncnewsline.com/2023/07/21/investigations-into-spikes-of-in-14-dioxane-in-asheboro-high-point-still-inconclusive/