Georgia Carpet PFAS Pollutes Alabama Water Despite Claims

Northwest Georgia's carpet manufacturing industry in Dalton continues to pollute the Conasauga River with PFAS chemicals, contaminating drinking water supplies downstream in Alabama, even though major producers claim they ceased using the substances years ago. Georgia environmental regulators failed to respond to repeated urgent requests from Alabama officials, internal records and interviews show.

PFAS, a group of lab-made compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or "forever chemicals," persist in the environment and have been linked to health risks including cancer and immune system damage. Testing by industry, academics and government in Georgia over several years detected the chemicals flowing into Alabama, yet Georgia's Environmental Protection Division (EPD) did not require industrial users to monitor for them.

In research briefs and communications obtained through public records requests, Alabama's Department of Environmental Management pressed EPD for action, but received no reply. Becky Truszczynski, an EPD official who joined in 2016, confirmed she found no record of any response. Alabama officials did not comment on the matter.