Pittsboro is responding to a chemical release upstream. Here’s what to know.

Pittsboro is urging its customers to conserve water after the City of Burlington detected a spike of a dangerous chemical in its discharge upstream on the Haw River.

Burlington measured 1,4-dioxane levels of 545 parts per billion in a sample it took Tuesday morning from its South Burlington Wastewater Treatment Plant’s discharge, a spike from 2.4 ppb the day before.

Burlington officials reported the results to Pittsboro and other downstream utilities Wednesday afternoon and ordered Apollo Chemical, the Burlington company it believes may be responsible, to cease production.

The chemical, 1,4-dioxane, is a likely human carcinogen that is difficult for utilities to remove from drinking water. It is used as an industrial solvent stabilizer. The Environmental Protection Agency has set a health advisory goal of 35 ppb for 1,4-dioxane in finished drinking water. North Carolina has a target level of 0.35 ppb in drinking water sources.

Pittsboro’s response

In a Thursday morning press release, Pittsboro officials said the town immediately stopped drawing most water from the Haw upon learning of the release Wednesday afternoon.

They also took a sample of the town’s water and expect to have results back on Friday. Pittsboro will take daily samples and have them tested quickly until they are sure the slug of 1,-4-dioxane has moved past.

When spills occur from Burlington, as they have several times in recent years, the high level of 1,4-dioxane tends to move downstream in a “slug.”

In some past events, it’s taken about a week for the water containing high levels of the chemical to make its way downstream to Pittsboro and then several more days for it to fully pass by the town. The Haw is flowing quickly right now, though, and Pittsboro is conducting modeling to figure out when the chemical could reach the town’s intake.

“Because of our lack of testing data, we are unsure of what impact this release has, is having, or will have on our water system,” Colby Sawyer, a town spokesman, wrote in a press release.

As in past events, Pittsboro is offering free reverse osmosis and ultraviolet-treated drinking water at Chatham Marketplace, 480 Hillsboro St., Pittsboro. Customers can use the code 64261 to fill containars for free and are asked to bring jugs and bottles from home.

By cutting the amount of water being drawn from the Haw to the minimum amount needed to keep their water system working, Pittsboro official are hoping to prevent 1,4-dioxane from entering their system.

That’s why Pittsboro is asking its customers to cut back on non-essential uses like watering their lawns, washing cars or filling swimming pools.

“We are fortunate to have received test results from Burlington so early in this event. We hope this early notification has provided a warning in enough time for us to take protective action,” Sawyer wrote in the release.

That’s a significant difference from a September event, when Burlington wasn’t able to notify Pittsboro of a spill until eight days after the release started because of a backlog at the lab Burlington uses. Burlington has spent $115,000 conducting daily tests since a July 2023 release of 1,4-dioxane.

Burlington was originally using “expedited” lab testing for 1,4-dioxane, which has a two- to four-day turnaround. After the September event, the city decided to start using “rush” testing, which has a one- to two-day turnaround, said John Vernon, a city spokesman.

Finding a potential source

In a press release, Burlington pointed to Apollo Chemical, a local chemical manufacturer, as a potential source of this week’s spike.

Apollo’s chemicals are used to clean and remove grease from hard surfaces, lift stains out of fabrics, eliminate odors and repel oil and water, according to a draft wastewater permit prepared for the company.

Burlington started collecting daily samples of Apollo’s wastewater after a July 2023 spill, reserving them in case of any future 1,-4 dioxane releases. With the latest spike, the city sent those samples for a rush analysis to determine the level of the chemical in them.

Burlington ordered Apollo to halt its production Wednesday as soon as it received the test results. City officials are meeting with the company Thursday, Vernon said in a press release.

Apollo would not typically be part of Burlington’s pre-treatment program, in which the city regulates the discharge of industrial wastewater into its own wastewater plant. Companies that are automatically part of the program must discharge certain amounts of wastewater or belong to certain industries, and Apollo meets neither of those qualifications.

But because the July 2023 release affected the city’s wastewater, it was able to start working to bring Apollo into the program. That would allow Burlington to better control what Apollo is discharging, namely by requiring it to control 1,4-dioxane.

Burlington is awaiting state approval of a new permit for Apollo’s pre-treatment program, it said in a press release. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality must review and approve that permit, which could go into effect by March 1.

Under the permit, Burlington would require Apollo to sample its discharge for 1,4-dioxane on a weekly basis.

The company will also need to submit a “1,4-dioxane minimization plan” to the city by April 15, which will include evaluation of substitutes for the chemical in its production process, changes in those processes that could limit releases of the chemical and preventing discharges from production lines that use a “significant” amount of 1,4-dioxane.

“These items are not required of our other permitted industries,” Vernon wrote in an email.

This story was produced with financial support from the Hartfield Foundation and Green South Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.