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Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Not just a simple blood test
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increases in cholesterol, decreases in immune function,
changes in thyroid hormone levels and changes in early
growth and development of (fetuses), leading to low birth
weight,” said Lewis-Michl.
According to the DOH, high levels of exposure to
PFCs have also been associated with ulcerative colitis,
testicular and kidney cancer.
Though there is some “suggestive evidence” that
PFOA and PFOS may be carcinogenic, “the amount of
evidence needed to say PFOA or PFOS causes cancer is
not there,” DOH Toxicologist Tom Johnson said.
Nonetheless, the state has opened an investigation to
examine the cancer levels of residents in the Newburgh
region.
“The investigation is looking at total cancers and
specific types of cancer diagnosed from 1995 through 2013
(latest available data), using the data from the New York
State Cancer Registry, which receives reports on all cases
of cancer occurring in New York State,” the DOH reports.
Lewis-Michl urged test takers to share their results
with their doctors. “If you have specific questions about
your health, speak to your health care provider,” she said,
noting local healthcare providers have been provided
with information about PFCs by the state. “They are
not going to instantly know everything about these
chemicals,” she added.
Appearing frustrated with the lack of information
about possible health effects from PFOS at the meeting
last month, one man asked, “Why should anyone get their
blood tested?” To better understand the community’s
level of exposure, Hutton replied.
PFCs were valued because they are heat stable,
repelling both water and oil. According to the American
Water Works Association, they are very persistent and
slow to degrade in the natural environment. Due to the
widespread presence of PFCs, most everyone has some
PFCs in their blood, Hutton said.
“PFOS has a half-life of between five and seven years,
so you can expect that in about six years, your level will
decline by one half,” Hutton said. “But, there is nothing
you can do to accelerate the decline.”
The blood tests measured for other PFCs, including
perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), which was measured
at levels only slightly below PFOS for many city residents.
“With PFOS, there is usually some amount of PFHxS. It
can be considered a by-product of PFOS production,”
Lewis-Michl said, noting PFHxS has a longer half-life of
eight to nine years.
Human studies are few
While there have been studies on the health effects
of PFCs in animals, studies on the health effects of PFCs
in human are very limited.
Communities in the East Metro area of Minneapolis,
Minnesota and Decatur, Alabama have participated in
PFOS studies. Both communities are located near plants
owned by 3M – at one time, the chief manufacturer of
PFOS and PFOA in the U.S. The manufacturing of PFCs
was phased at the plant in the 2000s.
Residents drinking public water in the East Metro
area of Minneapolis near the 3M plant in Cottage Grove,
Minnesota, tested with 36 ppt of PFOS in their blood in
2008. However, workers at the 3M plant tested with an
average of 1,760 micrograms per liter of PFOS in their
blood in 2000, Lewis-Michl said.
“This research is in its relative infancy,” Hutton said
at the Newburgh Armory last month. “It’s the research
that takes decades to follow individuals.”
Though the state Department of Environmental
Conservation identifies PFOS and PFOA as “hazardous
substances,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
has yet to regulate either chemical.
In February, Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney
joined state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker to call
on the federal government and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention to conduct a two-year study into
the long-term, human health effects of exposure to PFCs.
Next week, the series will focus on cleanup efforts at
Washington Lake and the construction of a new filtration
system at the City of Newburgh water plant.
Town approves purchase near Chadwick Lake
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to serve as the town’s main drinking water source when
the Delaware Aqueduct is shut down for six months in
2022.
Following a public hearing on the purchase, the
town council took another step to protect the lake with
the approval to hire a vendor to remove a group of
groundhogs wreaking havoc in the lake’s dam.
“It’s an earth dam, built around a concrete core,” said
Osborne. “The woodchucks are making burrows in the
earthen part of the dam. This allows water to infiltrate
the borrows and compromise the stability of the earthen
face of the dam.”
Chadwick Lake was created with the construction
of the dam in 1924, the