Duke University Superfund Research Collaboration
By: Riverkeeper Stephanie Stephens
Deep River Riverkeeper (DRRK) and Duke University Superfund Research Center have been working together on uncovering the impact of PFAS chemicals, or “Forever” chemicals, in the Deep River and its tributaries. PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of man-made chemicals used in various products like firefighting foams, food packaging, and clothing. PFAS chemicals are also widely used in industry and manufacturing for their lubricant capabilities and water resistance. They are known as "Forever” chemicals because they are highly persistent in the environment, move through the food-chain and can accumulate in the human body.
In December 2024, DRRK Riverkeeper Stephanie Stephens and Board Members Lisa Keck and Carey Westermann collected five samples on the Deep River and confluent tributaries to be analyzed by Dr. Abigail Joyce at Duke University. In April 2025, the sample results came back revealing the presence of PFAS chemicals in every site sampled, along with the type of PFAS found…there are over 10,000 types of PFAS in circulation. Of the five samples collected, Bull Run, a tributary of the Deep River in High Point, NC came back the highest, at 179.655 parts per trillion (ppt), followed by the Deep River, near its confluence with Bull Run at 54.34 ppt. Additionally, DRRK sampled Richland Creek, a tributary that meets the Deep River downstream from Bull Run and found 155 ppt PFAS in late January 2025 using Cyclopure Kits for PFAS.
Our organization has been building relationships with Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment to establish research opportunities and further data analysis on the Deep River. Riverkeeper Stephanie Stephens recently devised a PFAS Monitoring Program for Bull Run and Richland Creek to sample six sites per stream for PFAS in two rounds (12 samples per stream), to target PFAS sources entering these streams in different locations. PFAS forensics, a new way of looking at in-stream “Forever” chemicals, will be used to determine source contamination and help to find ways to reduce the levels of certain types of PFAS. This summer, Duke University Medical School interns will be visiting DRRK sites to learn more about the impacts of industry, consumer products, landfills and hazardous waste sites on streams, rivers and drinking water through a DRRK designed case study on the region.
Richland Creek and Bull Run enter the Deep River just above Randleman Reservoir, the drinking water source for High Point, Jamestown, Archdale and parts of Greensboro, NC. Each stream flows through urban areas near firefighter training centers, historic textile mills, industrial manufacturing facilities and urbanized life. Richland Creek is a unique site because it flows through the heart of High Point furniture industry, two landfills, a Superfund site and receives the discharge from Eastside Wastewater Treatment Facility, which receives water from 18 Significant Industrial Users in the area; if that isn’t complex enough, the stream has direct in-stream litter pollution.
It is our hope that by monitoring these sites, removing the trash pollution and monitoring again, we can reduce PFAS types marginally while honing in on other types of PFAS that remain or increase, tracking their sources to other contributing factors. Round one of sampling on Bull Run and Richland Creek was done in early May 2025 and litter removal will begin this June, with the help of volunteers. The second round of sampling will begin in August 2025 and all results will be available in our Annual Report in December 2025.
