The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new health advisory for GenX was met by cheers from environmentalists four weeks ago when it was announced. Now, Chemours is suing the agency, claiming the advisory is based on bad science.

Chemours, a chemical maker with a plant outside Fayetteville, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Wednesday alleging EPA made a series of mistakes when establishing a new health advisory for HFPO-Dimer Acid, commonly known as GenX.

In a statement announcing the lawsuit, Chemours said it supports governmental regulation when its based on the best available science and follows the law. The company claims EPA failed on both counts, according to the statement.

Chemours is accusing EPA of using scientific data that its own peer reviewers called “extreme” and “excessive” to establish its new GenX health advisory, according to the company’s lawsuit.

“When an agency misuses its authority to promulgate a health advisory that is scientifically unsound, in a manner contrary to the agency’s own processes and standards, we have an obligation to challenge it, administratively and in the courts,” the company said in a statement.

What Chemours alleges

EPA announced its new health advisory for GenX in Wilmington on June 15. With the Cape Fear River behind her, Radhika Fox, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water, announced new advisories which slashed exposure limits for GenX and three other PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances).

EPA’s advisory set exposure limits for GenX at 10 parts per trillion. The new limits replaced North Carolina’s 140 parts per trillion health goal, which was enacted in 2018.

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For more than 30 years, Chemours, and before them DuPont, dumped an untold amount of PFAS, including GenX, into the Cape Fear River. The actions of the two companies contaminated the drinking water source to more than 300,000 people.

After reporting by the StarNews brought the contamination to light in 2017, Chemours has been forced to clean up its Bladen County chemical plant and help thousands of affected homes across eight counties in Southeastern North Carolina.

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The toxicity assessment EPA used for the health advisory contained “major scientific flaws, according to the lawsuit. It failed to incorporate available peer-reviewed literature and significantly overstates GenX’s risks to humans, according to the lawsuit.

“… In essence, EPA used the wrong chemical when making its exposure assumptions, thereby resulting in a significantly less tolerant health advisory for HFPO Dimer Acid than warranted by the data,” according to the lawsuit.

Chemours believes the health advisory is unlawful and therefore should be vacated, according to the lawsuit.

EPA announces new GenX limits

EPA’s new health advisories were based on more than 400 studies, which indicated negative health effects may occur from exposure to PFAS at extremely low levels, Fox said during her announcement on June 15.

Animal testing revealed links between GenX and effects on the liver, kidney, immune system, developmental effects and cancer, according to the EPA.

The new health advisories were met by cheers when Fox announced them to a room full of environmentalists during a national PFAS conference being held in Wilmington.

Chemours and the chemical industry reacted very differently.

The American Chemistry Council echoed Chemours sentiment after EPA’s announcement. It stated it supported creating water standards based on the best available science, and that EPA didn’t do that with these advisories, according to a statement from the council released at the time.

After the announcement, Chemours said it was evaluating its next steps, which they said could include litigation.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Chemours files suit against EPA over new GenX health advisory