North Carolina legislators are grappling with the growing knowledge that industries have discharged unstudied chemicals into the state’s waters for years.

A special state House committee on Thursday heard from health and environmental experts about the unregulated chemical GenX in the drinking water for more than 200,000 people in and around Wilmington.

State Epidemiologist Dr. Zack Moore says the compound made at The Chemours Co.’s Bladen County plant might be hazardous to humans, but there’s been too little research to know for sure.

Moore says the chemical is just one of many chemicals without studies showing how much is safe or how much is floating in waterways.

Legislators may vote next week to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of legislation to treat GenX in the Wilmington area.