For Immediate Release:
Friday, August 26, 2022

Contact: Nazneen Ahmed
919-716-0060

(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein today released the following statement after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed designating two types of PFAS – PFOS and PFOA – as “hazardous substances.” The designation will give people more information about the level of contamination in their community and do more to require polluters to clean up the contamination.

“Protecting the people of North Carolina is my number one priority, and that includes the air we breathe and the water we drink,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “I applaud the EPA for giving us more tools to hold companies responsible when they put North Carolinians’ health at risk. I’m grateful to my friend Administrator Regan for his continued commitment to protecting people and the environment. My team and I will continue our work to hold accountable the companies responsible for PFAS pollution.”

Attorney General Stein has been leading efforts to hold accountable polluters for PFAS contamination in North Carolina. In 2020, he launched a formal investigation into the companies responsible for PFAS contamination in North Carolina. As a result of that investigation, he filed a lawsuit against DuPont and Chemours for the damage their toxic chemicals have caused to natural resources and drinking water in the Cape Fear River Basin and its communities.

In 2021, he filed four additional lawsuits against 14 companies that manufacture AFFF, a fire suppressant used by first responders that contains PFAS. Attorney General Stein’s broader investigation into PFAS contamination is ongoing.

More on Attorney General Stein’s work to address PFAS contamination:

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