"NC Chiefs Bash Scientist Warning Water Near Duke Pits Unsafe"

"RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory's administration on Tuesday again lashed out against a state toxicologist who said in sworn testimony he worried that state officials cleared well water near Duke Energy coal ash pits as safe to drink despite a chemical known to cause cancer.

High-ranking officials of the state's environmental and health agencies sought to isolate state toxicologist Ken Rudo as the creator of a too-severe standard for the presence of hexavalent chromium in groundwater. The standard — a one chance in a million that people drinking contaminated water could develop cancer over a lifetime — was set by the state agencies before warning letters were issued last year to about 330 neighbors of Duke Energy coal sites.

Rudo produced 'questionable and inconsistent scientific conclusions,' the statement by state public health director Dr. Randall Williams and Department of Environmental Quality Assistant Secretary Tom Reeder said. The statement was issued a week after Rudo's deposition in a lawsuit against Duke Energy was obtained by The Associated Press."

Emery P. Dalesio reports for the Associated Press August 9, 2016.