WUNC: “The company behind the PFAS environmental disaster in Southeast North Carolina has contributed to Michael Whatley’s U.S. Senate campaign.”
DC insider Michael Whatley continues to be in the spotlight for taking thousands of dollars from the Chemours Company PAC while dodging questions about the forever chemicals Chemours dumped into Eastern North Carolina, the federal government’s recent settlement with Chemours, or the EPA rolling back regulations limiting PFAS in drinking water.
As North Carolina families suffer the consequences of forever chemicals, Whatley needs to answer for putting his campaign coffers over families.
- Host: “Adam, you reported that Chemours, the company behind the PFAS environmental disaster in Southeast North Carolina, has contributed to Michael Whatley’s U.S. Senate campaign.”
- Adam Wagner: “[PFAS] just kind of stick around for eons. They’ve also been linked to a pretty wide range of health effects, some cancers […] And starting around 1980 [Chemours] dumped a bunch of forever chemicals into the Cape Fear River and didn’t disclose them in its permits, so that that is a water source for hundreds of thousands of people in southeastern North Carolina. It’s where Wilmington’s – the vast majority of Wilmington’s drinking water comes from. […] But this contribution to Whatley, $5,000 is really the first time it’s stepping into a federal race, especially on this level. And based on when they gave it, which was right before the primary ended, they could give again during the general election.”
- Host: “Right, because of the way that political donations, the schedule works, they can give again, and they can give how much?”
- Adam Wagner: “It’d be another $5,000.”
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