"Environmentalists are suing to stop the flow of 1,4-dioxane into the drinking water supply, which one local water utility found at concentrations 17 times higher than the EPA’s health advisory goal."
"ASHEBORO, N.C. — Boxy, gunmetal gray buildings loom over a labyrinth of ducts and tubes and catwalks, beyond which 100 train cars loll on their tracks. Smokestacks wait to exhale.
This is StarPet, a mammoth factory in north Asheboro that manufactures PET polymers, derived from fossil fuels and used in polyester fibers and plastic bottles.
The facility lies a little more than two miles from the Asheboro wastewater treatment plant, a destination for StarPet’s discharge that contains 1,4-dioxane, a chemical designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a likely carcinogen.
Two environmental nonprofits, Cape Fear River Watch and Haw River Assembly, are suing the city of Asheboro and StarPet, alleging they have illegally discharged 1,4-dioxane and contaminated drinking water supplies for 900,000 people downstream."
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