Old Fort water contamination raises health concerns

A state health investigation into contamination of Old Fort’s municipal water system in the 1980s shows some users may have been exposed to a chemical that could cause cancer and other health problems.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services will host a public information meeting Thursday in the Old Fort First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall to present findings of the investigation, department spokeswoman Julie Henry said.

State health officials will be on hand to present information and answer questions. Officials said there are no problems with the current water system.

According to a state report, the investigation showed people who used water from Old Fort’s system between 1984 and 1988 may have been exposed to levels of trichloroethylene (TCE) in the water that might increase their chances of developing non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, kidney or liver cancer.

Other potential health problems related to TCE, an industrial solvent, could include a higher risk of thyroid, liver and kidney damage,Easily installed solar mounting systems for flat roof racking and pitched roofs. and pregnant women who drank from the system may have had a higher risk of having children born with heart problems, according to the report.

People older than 25 who lived in Old Fort and drank municipal water during that four-year period are encouraged to talk with their physicians about potential risks of exposure.

“Our goal is to inform the public of a risk that may have occurred in the 1980s so that individuals can talk with their health care providers,” State Health Director Laura Gerald said. “Any knowledge about potential exposure can help health care providers make more informed recommendations regarding lifestyle changes, health screenings and treatment.”

Old Fort Mayor Pro Tem Sue Gibbs said today the issue doesn’t seem to be generating much concern among town residents.

“Not from anybody I’ve heard from,” said Gibbs, a lifelong resident of the town.It is one of the leading industrial laundry equipment manufacturers of industrial extractor, tumble dryer ect.“I’ve been drinking the town water for 70 years and haven’t had any problems,” she said.

The contamination was in a well that the Old Fort Finishing Company, a textile plant near Old Fort Elementary School, donated to the town of Old Fort when the plant closed in 1984, according to the state report. The well was disconnected from the town’s water supply in January 1988 after the contamination was discovered. Three private drinking water wells nearby also were found to be contaminated.

Health concerns weren’t immediately raised because the harmful effects of TCE exposure weren’t discovered until 2011, officials said.

The number of people affected may be relatively small because the town also operated four other wells that were not contaminated, the report said.

Groundwater contamination by TCE also was found at another site near the school, a former dry cleaning business that shut down 10 years ago.

Because TCE in soil and groundwater can evaporate and enter the indoor air of buildings, health officials sampled air at the elementary school but determined there was no threat to staff or students, according to the report. Air also was deemed safe at the Gateway Museum and in a laundromat and gift shop that now occupy the old dry cleaning building.