Follow up study on C8 to begin in Ohio River area

Researchers have begun a study to interview up to 40,000 people who live near DuPont's Washington Works plant along the Ohio River (Source: "Huge C8 health study to begin," The Columbus Dispatch, May 24, 2008).  These interviews will complement research done on 67,000 people living in the Marietta and Parkersburg West Virigina communities. 

This study is part of an ongoing set of research to study the health effects from the use of C8 (perfluorooctanoic acid), a chemical that had been used in the making of Teflon.  Funds from a $107 million lawsuit settlement are paying for both of these studies.

An impetus for these studies is that while 90 percent of Americans have an average of 5 parts per billion of C8 in their blood, Ohioans living near this plant had median levels of 298 to 369 parts per billion.  Since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers C8 a "likely" carcinogen, researchers want to determine whether their are links between the chemical and disease.

According to the Dispatch article, "Preliminary results of data collected from 67,000 Ohio and West Virginia residents suggests that C8 might affect immune systems, liver function and allergic reactions and raise children's cholesterol levels."  This new study is designed to help answer whether these changes are tied to C8 or to something else.