Pittsboro plans to sue Apollo Chemical for drinking water contamination

Last year, Burlington officials identified Apollo as the source of a hazardous substance in the city’s wastewater called 1,4-dioxane, an industrial solvent that has been labeled by the Environmental Protection Agency as a likely carcinogen.

Sludges of the chemical were discharged into the Haw River, threatening drinking water safety in downstream communities.

Pittsboro officials say they will send a notice of intent to sue Apollo Chemical for violations of the Clean Water Ace and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Apollo Chemical did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The board also approved funding for a pilot study to assess the efficacy of a new advanced water treatment system developed by Invicta Water, a Burlington company.

Steve Wilcenski, the founder and CEO of Invicta Water, said the system uses boron nitride and UV light to destroy and capture chemicals at a much lower cost than traditional carbon filters.

“We’ve proven that this works and research studies with Elon University and the Navy have also concluded that the technology works on a lab scale,” Wilcenski said. “Now, we just need to prove that it works at scale.”

Wilcenski said he anticipates the pilot program will be up and running within three months.