GenX is a trade name for a man-made and unregulated chemical used in manufacturing nonstick coatings and for other purposes. Chemours (formerly DuPont) facility in Fayetteville, North Carolina began producing GenX commercially in 2009 as a replacement for PFOA. The same chemicals were also produced as a byproduct during other manufacturing processes and it may have been present in the environment for many years before being produced commercially as GenX.

GenX was first introduced to replace PFOA ("perfluorooctanoic acid") which is a compound that is used to manufacture Teflon and other such coatings for stain-resistant carpeting, waterproof clothing, and many other products. PFOA, which is also known as C8, was eliminated by DuPont after they were a party to a class-action lawsuit over health and environmental concerns.

GenX is also associated with some of the same health problems as PFOA, including cancer and reproductive issues. In 2009, the EPA was aware that GenX was likely dangerous to humans, but the information was ignored and the EPA granted DuPont and Chemours (a company spun off from DuPont) a consent order to allow them to use GenX.

I mention this because if you think the EPA is truly a watchdog, you are sadly mistaken. Exceptions like this happen all the time. One can only speculate why that occurs. GenX mixes easily into water and some call it a "water-loving chemical" which means it is very difficult to detect and study.

What we do know is that the body can store this chemical for years making the phrase, "Buy a Water Filter or Be a Water Filter" very appropriate, meaning even if the quality of your water supply isn't bad, it is nice to have a water filter. A lot could be written about these contaminants, and in fact there is a multitude of information already. Local governments are pushing the EPA to provide regulatory guidance for these contaminants, but to date, that has not happened. Frequently, it can take ten, fifteen or twenty years for a newly discovered chemical to become regulated by the EPA.

Much like 1,4-Dioxane, more research needs to be done on the removal of GenX from the water, although Reverse Osmosis has been demonstrated to be effective at considerable reduction of the contaminants. Filtering water through activated carbon has not been proven effective at removing chemicals like GenX. The chemical's genetic structure makes the chemical incredibly resistant to existing water treatment processes and degradation systems to minimize drinking water contaminants.

Whenever I am asked, what should I do about any water problem, and in the case of GenX, I simply put myself in the shoes of the homeowner. If I lived there, what would I do? Here's what I would do. I would use a prolonged contact granular activated carbon tank followed by a whole-house reverse osmosis system like this:

A system such as this will remove a substantial amount of GenX as well as thousands of other contaminants because reverse osmosis removed the largest spectrum of contaminants of any water treatment process. You can wait years for the EPA to do something, or you can remove the GenX and a plethora of other chemicals from your water TODAY!