State Health Departments Ask for Study of PFAS

A group of state Health Commissioners has sent a joint letter to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), requesting a study of the health impact of Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).  The six states include New York, the official sponsor of the letter, as well as Alaska, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.  These PFAS chemicals, such as PFOS and PFOA, have contaminated public and private water supplies in these states and others.  Specifically, the states ” request that ATSDR undertakes a longitudinal, national health effects study of communities impacted by PFAS across the country. ”  This request follows the recent release of a draft document by ATSDR, “Feasibility Assessment for Epidemiological Studies at Pease International Tradeport in Portsmouth, New Hampshire,”  that describes an approach that might be used for such a health study.  The extensive data already being collected by the states in response to local contamination incidents can help support a national study.
For more information and a link to the letter, see the New York State Department of Health News Release.
Special note: For those attending the ASDWA Annual Conference in October, Dr. Patrick Breysse of CDC will be giving a presentation on the work of CDC and ATSDR on perfluorinated chemicals.