The GenX water crisis began 4 years ago. Here's a recap of the key moments so far

Aug. 16—For more than 30 years, an untold amount of toxic, cancer-causing chemicals entered the Cape Fear River and private residents' drinking wells from a chemical manufacturing plant outside Fayetteville, North Carolina.

The chemicals that leaked from the plant are known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, and their manufacturers have allegedly known for decades that they are dangerous to humans.

Yet Chemours and DuPont, the two manufacturers who owned the Fayetteville Works plant, contaminated the drinking water for more than 300,000 North Carolinians since as early as 1980. It wasn't until 2017 when the StarNews broke the story, that the public became aware they were consuming toxic chemicals in dangerously high amounts.

In the four years since the crisis began, Chemours has had to pay a $12 million fine to the state of North Carolina, and is now required by legal agreement to clean up its manufacturing facility and help some of the thousands of affected residents.

But a vast majority of the 300,000 people affected by the GenX water crisis have yet to receive any assistance from Chemours or DuPont, and major questions remain over how many will ever get any help, what the chemicals will do to people long term and what stops the same crisis from happening again.

Since 2017, the StarNews has provided comprehensive coverage of the GenX water crisis by publishing dozens of articles. Here are the most recent stories and key coverage from the past:

In the four years since the GenX water crisis began, a vast majority of those affected haven't gotten any assistance from Chemours or DuPont. Many have decided to sue as a result.

Chemours and DuPont face more than 1,000 lawsuits for their part in the GenX water crisis, but North Carolina is just the tip of the iceberg for the two chemical makers when it comes to water contamination lawsuits.

The field of chemistry, especially for commercial purposes, is a quickly expanding area, and there's no realistic way for scientists or regulators to keep track of all the compounds companies come up with.

While some progress has been made in terms of monitoring, environmentalists and experts say little has changed in terms of regulations that could prevent a similar crisis from happening.

In the four years since the GenX crisis began in the Cape Fear region, scientists have established that North Carolinians who drank the water from the Cape Fear River had higher amounts of PFAS in their bodies compared to the average American.

Yet little is known about what high amounts of PFAS exposure will do to people. Scientists have established some compounds such as PFOA, also known as C8, are possible human carcinogens, but other chemicals leaked into the river by Chemours aren't as well understood by scientists.

Scientists, including many in North Carolina, are making progress in determining the health impacts of PFAS on humans, but they say progress is slow and ultimately understanding the true effects of the crisis might never be possible.

In February 2019, Chemours, the state of North Carolina and Cape Fear River Watch entered into a consent order requiring the chemical manufacturer to reduce its chemical emissions and clean up its manufacturing facility outside Fayetteville.

As part of the agreement, Chemours agreed to pay a $12 million fine to the state and make a $100 million investment in its operation to reduce PFAS emissions. The consent order also mandated Chemours help those around the Fayetteville Works site by installing filters in their homes if their drinking water wells were contaminated.

In a public meeting with local and state officials, Chemours said it had been dumping unregulated chemicals into the Cape Fear River since as early as 1980. Despite the admission, Chemours didn't commit to ceasing its chemical discharges into the public waterway.

Chemours officials believed GenX ended up in the Cape Fear River as a result of a vinyl ether process that takes place on the massive industrial site.

In June 2017, a StarNews investigation revealed that a chemical known commercially as GenX had been identified in the drinking water system of Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, which provides drinking water to approximately 200,000 people.

The discovery of the PFAS compound, which at the time CFPUA couldn't filter out, came after years of researchers finding the toxins in the Cape Fear River flowing down from the Fayetteville Works plant approximately 100 miles upstream from Wilmington.

At the time, scientists had only tested CFPUA for the compound, but expected the contamination zone to spread as more areas were tested.

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