WRAL, September 2022
Newlyweds Katie and Dawson Tew are expecting their first child, a son, in December. The easygoing couple, in their early 20s, thought their peaceful home here would be a safe place for their growing family, surrounded by green acres and backyard horses.
But daydreams of country life turned into a nightmare when a neighbor warned them in January that their well water may be contaminated.
“My neighbor said ‘I got my water tested and we have a lot of GenX in it.’ And I’m like what? What’s that?” Dawson Tew said. “Apparently it’s bad for you and you shouldn’t drink it, so we got our well tested, too.”
Test results showed their drinking water was full of GenX and other per and polyflouroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals because of how long they can persist in the environment and the human body.
