PFOA stories

Publication: THE CHARLESTON GAZETTEPublished: 02/22/2007Page: 1AHeadline: NEW C8 STUDY FINDS BABY DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMSByline: KEN WARD JR.kward@wvgazette.comNewborn babies exposed to low levels of the chemical C8 have been foundto have decreased birth weight and head circumference, according topreliminary results from Johns Hopkins University researchers.The findings, if confirmed, could represent a dramatic new piece ofevidence - actual developmental effects in humans - about the potentialdangers of C8 and similar chemicals."We think it is significant," said Dr. Lynn Goldman, a professor at theJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health."If this is confirmed, it is important," Goldman said during a phoneinterview. "It would say that there is a biological change that is goingon."Goldman is leading the study, with a team from Johns Hopkins and thefederal Centers for Disease Control.Last week, Goldman presented the preliminary findings at a workshop ofthe Society of Toxicology, a professional organization of scholars andscientists.The workshop was co-sponsored by the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency and by DuPont Co., which makes and uses C8 to make Teflon, othernon-stick products, oil-resistant paper packaging and stain- andwater-repellent textiles.C8 is another name for ammonium perfluorooctanoate, or PFOA. DuPont hasused the chemical since the 1950s at its Washington Works plant south ofParkersburg.Researchers are finding that people around the world have C8 in theirblood. The blood levels may be generally small, but it is unclearwhether these amounts are dangerous.Nonstick cookware may be one route of exposure to C8, but recent studiessuggest that food packaging may be a much bigger source.DuPont has consistently maintained there are no human effects known tobe caused by C8.In its most recent position paper on the subject, the company said,"Based on health and toxicological studies conducted by DuPont and otherresearchers, DuPont believes the weight of evidence indicates that PFOAdoes not pose a health risk to the general public."Through a company spokesman, DuPont science director Robert Rickardreferred questions about the Johns Hopkins study to Goldman, noting thata final version had not yet been published and DuPont has "not had anopportunity to review the final results."