North Carolina Rural Communities Battle PFAS Contamination from Landfill, Demand Action

For over 50 years, residents of Sampson County, North Carolina, have witnessed the expansion of their local landfill to nearly 1,300 acres, making it the largest in the state. Garbage from across North Carolina is now dumped at the site. Sherri White-Williamson, a lifelong resident, has grown increasingly alarmed by the potential for chemicals from the landfill to leach into groundwater and affect public health.

“Many of the folks out around that landfill are on well water,” White-Williamson said. “They are drinking in it, they’re bathing in it, they’re using it to water gardens and animals.”

With a background in environmental justice at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), White-Williamson recognized a gap in advocacy in her own community. In 2020, she co-founded the nonprofit Environmental Justice Community Action Network (EJCAN) to empower residents to address environmental issues locally.

Shortly after its first meeting in October 2020, EJCAN began collaborating with residents of Snow Hill, a historically Black rural community near the landfill. Residents reported concerns about environmental and public health risks, particularly the safety of their private wells.

To investigate, EJCAN partnered with UNC Chapel Hill and Appalachian State University to conduct free well water testing, funded by small grants. “The community felt like they were seeing elevated levels of illnesses and [were] convinced what they were seeing was directly related to their proximity to the landfill, and the water that they’re drinking,” White-Williamson explained. “There’s never been a health impact analysis in that area, so it’s been all anecdotal.”

The testing provided critical evidence. After four rounds of sampling, researchers found that 13% of wells in the area were contaminated with PFAS and other hazardous substances.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are synthetic chemicals used since the 1940s in products like water-repellent fabrics, nonstick cookware, and firefighting foam. Known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS persist indefinitely in the body and environment due to their strong carbon-fluorine bonds. This includes “legacy” PFAS like PFOA and PFOS, which were phased out in the 2000s, as well as newer “novel” PFAS developed as replacements.