Today, I went to Wilmington with Dr. Moore. We attended an event hosted by the Cape Fear River Watch, a community group primarily concerned with the Cape Fear River and its environmental contaminants. The day-long forum included presentations and talks from different experts and community activists about two main pollutants: hog waste and chemical leakage. Hog farms store pig waste in large lagoons and when it rains or the reservoirs overflow, the waste runs off into the river. This waste contains high levels of nutrients that feed algae growth which, in turn, depletes the oxygen necessary for fish and other animals to live. In addition, Chemours, a spinoff company of DuPont, the manufacturer of Teflon and other “forever chemicals”, has been allowing a type of chemicals called PFAS to leak into the river, causing numerous health issues to residents, including thyroid cancer and birth defects.