Lab Matters Fall 2017 | Page 10

feature

From that point onward , the feel of village life changed . Wadsworth Center Laboratories confirmed that Hoosick Falls ’ public water supply , serviced by an underground aquifer , was laced with about 600 ppt PFOA . The state department of health provided residents with bottled water for drinking and cooking and made plans for water treatment . And an EPA administrator wrote the village mayor , noting PFOA ’ s “ extreme persistence in the environment and its toxicity , mobility and bioaccumulation potential .”

Yet , in the midst of this situation , Hoosick Falls was fortunate in one regard . Just 30 miles south in Albany , scientists at the Wadsworth Center , part of the New York State Department of Health ( DOH ), had been investigating PFCs for many years , looking at levels in wildlife and then newborn screening bloodspots . The scientists knew these emerging , unregulated compounds — associated in some studies with endocrine disruption , developmental problems , testicular cancer , kidney cancer , liver damage and thyroid disease — had raised concerns in other states . And they recognized the value of being able to measure the chemicals in people — part of the science of biomonitoring .

“ If it ’ s in the water , and we ’ ve been drinking it , are we exposed ?”

An important early biomonitoring success story occurred in the late 1970s , when the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ’ s ( CDC ’ s ) second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ( NHANES II )— the only US health survey incorporating laboratory testing on blood and urine — included lead testing for the first time . James Pirkle , MD , PhD , director of the Division of Laboratory Sciences ( DLS ) in CDC ’ s National Center for Environmental Health ( NCEH ) said NHANES II “ showed , unexpectedly , that gasoline lead was a major exposure for children and for adults — a huge finding that we would not have known otherwise .” Soon thereafter , the country began phasing lead out of gasoline .

Today , NHANES tests a nationally representative slice of the population ( about 5,000 people / year ) for over 300 chemicals , providing critical baseline

The November 2017 launch of the APHL / CDC National Biomonitoring Network ( NBN ), is envisioned as a a collaboration of biomonitoring laboratories with harmonized test methods and quality management systems that yield comparable data , accuracy and precision .”

or “ background ” levels of exposure for US residents , overall . But state biomonitoring efforts to document local background levels and to test for suspected elevated exposures have been little funded and lagging ( as have efforts to track health outcomes associated with elevated exposures to determine high-risk exposure levels ).

“ Is every state prepared for biomonitoring emergency response ?” asked Lovisa Romanoff , MS , deputy director of laboratory sciences at NCEH . “ I would say it depends on what chemical we ’ re talking about . Lead , probably yes . PFOA , no . There are not that many labs that measure chemicals like PFOA .”

National health authorities and public health laboratory leaders would like to see this change . Said Pirkle , “ It remains a main priority for me to help expand state biomonitoring programs .”

One step toward that goal is the November 2017 launch of the APHL /

CDC National Biomonitoring Network ( NBN ), envisioned as a collaboration of biomonitoring laboratories with harmonized test methods and quality management systems that yield comparable data , accuracy and precision .

Although the network has yet to formally accept laboratory members , it is already seen as a resource to help laboratories plan studies across state lines , exchange lessons learned and access subject matter expertise . So far , the network has workgroups focused on study design , laboratory methods , and the revision and expansion of APHL ’ s 2012 Guidance for Laboratory Biomonitoring Programs .

Ultimately , said Pirkle , the NBN will provide “ better opportunities for better science .”

Ken Aldous , PhD , co-chair of the NBN Network Steering Committee and director emeritus of Wadsworth ’ s environmental health sciences program , said as soon as Hoosick Falls residents

New Hampshire mailed these postcards to communities to recruit study participants . Photo : NH PHL