NC State researcher finds high PFAS concentrations in sea foam along local beaches

By Peter Castagno | Port City Daily | March 25, 2025

Read the full article by Peter Castagno (Port City Daily)

"An expert panel discussion on Cape Fear region water contamination included new research finding high levels of PFAS in local sea foam samples.

Clean Cape Fear partnered with the Women’s Ministry Team of St. Andrew’s Covenant Presbyterian Church to host an expert panel discussion Saturday on upstream PFAS and 1,4-dioxane pollution in the tri-county region.

NC State senior research scholar Jeffrey Enders, one of the event’s four panelists, presented his findings after analyzing 13 tri-county sea foam samples collected by Clean Cape Fear co-founder Emily Donovan over a nine month period.

“When Emily and [NC State researcher Drake Phelps] brought sea foam samples to me for the first time,” Enders told Port City Daily, “I was like, surely nobody’s ever published on sea foam — I’ve never heard of this.”