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Little
Hocking Area C8 Study -- Environmental
Justice Partnership Funded by: the
National Institute of Environmental |
| Community Newsletter |
Study results are available as a PDF or the original
PowerPoint Presentation.
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What's New?
A public meeting is planned to announce the findings of the study. The date and location will be announced on this website and in the next newsletter.
In the original survey, conducted in 2004/2005, data were was gathered from 325 randomly selected individuals and a separate sample of 56 volunteers. Results of this study were made available to the participants and to the public. A second study of the C8 currently in the blood of the same individuals was carried out in late 2006 and early 2007. In addition, breast milk samples were obtained from several lactating women living in the Little Hocking Water Association service area and will be analyzed in addition to their blood samples.
Read the minutes from the Community Advisory Committee meetings.
What is C8 ?
C8 is the shorthand name for ammonium perfluorooctanate, a man-made chemical. The chemical is sometimes referred to as perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOA. C8 has had a number of uses including in non-stick coating on cookware, in fire-fighting foams, and as a protective finish for carpets and clothing. If C8 is released into the environment it will not break down, so C8 pollution can remain for many years. Very low amounts of C8 have been found in the blood of the general population of the United States. C8 can enter the body by consumption of contaminated food or water, or by breathing contaminated air. C8 remains in the body for a long time; it takes about four years for the level of C8 to reduce by half. C8 is a health concern because in experiments on animals it has caused cancers and damaged the animals' livers. It is also suspected of causing disturbances in the endocrine system (hormone regulation). Studies of the effects of C8 on human health have been inconclusive thus far.
What is the Affected Area?
The survey area includes the service area of the Little Hocking Water Association, which is all or part of: Barlow, Belpre, Decatur, Dunham, Fairfield, Palmer, Watertown and Wesley townships in Washington, County, Ohio; and Troy township in Athens County, Ohio.
Who will benefit?
The research has been designed to address current concerns of the residents of the LHWA district. The community will benefit from the results of the study in that they will know whether local C8 levels are above the national levels and, if the levels are elevated, the routes of exposure (air, water, occupational, other). They will also know whether higher levels of C8 are associated with changes in biomarkers of effect, indicating the possibility of present or future health effects. With knowledge of C8 levels and potential effects, interventions can be designed to reduce the C8 exposure through voluntary individual, voluntary community, or government regulatory actions.Though C8 is known to be widely and possibly universally present in the general population of the United States, this is the first study of a community which is specifically potentially contaminated with C8.
Who Is Conducting the Research Study?
This study is a collaboration of an Environmental Justice Consortium between Environmental Health researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, a local health care provider in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and the Decatur Community Association, a community association of residents living in the Little Hocking Water Association district.
The Principal Investigators are:
Dr. Edward Emmett, University of Pennsylvania;
Dr. Nancy Rodway, a Local Health Care Provider
Mr. David Freeman of the Decatur Community Association.
Ms. Ellen Mumma of the Decatur community Association serves as Community Coordinator.
Who Is Paying for the Research Study?
The study is being funded by a research grant from Environmental Justice program of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the federal government. Funding was awarded effective September 1, 2003, and continues through June, 2007. Findings of this study have been made publicly available, except that individual results will not be released to anyone except that individual (or, in the case of minors, to the parent or guardian).
*The study receives no funding from any commerical party and is independent of any legal party".
Anticipated Timeline
Analysis of C8 in the original blood samples was completed at the University of Pennsylvania and results have been announced. A second test of the same individuals was conducted in late 2006 and early 2007.
Links to other sites for further information on C8:
Environmental Protection Agency Database of C8 documents