PFOA Work Group Holds Second Session
By Emily Gabert
A preview of the results of the second round of blood testing for PFOA and PFOS was presented at the Hoosick Area Community Participation Work Group’s meeting on Wednesday, July 25.
This round focused more on testing for six different PFAS chemicals and saw an overall decline of the chemicals in the blood of the participants. The decline can be attributed to the drinking water being cleaned of these contaminants, according to guest speaker Elizabeth L. Lewis-Mich. She is the Director of The Division of Environmental Health Assessment. Another factor that can impact the level of chemicals in the body is blood circulation characteristics.
Her presentation featured a short version of testing results and gave work group members a chance to give feedback on the different ways that the results can be presented to the public. They could also ask questions about any of the information. A full detailed report will be released to the public in the coming weeks.
The Hoosick Area Community Participation Work Group was formed to help local residents address the ongoing issues surrounding the PFOA contamination and how to better improve communication about it.
The presenters said the first round of blood testing was focused more on overall exposure to the chemicals rather than to specific ones. Some participants from the first round returned for more blood testing. Of those returning participants, half use the Village’s water supply while the other half use private wells. Not every participant showed elevated levels of the chemicals in their blood and those who didn’t were excluded from the results, Lewis-Mich said.
Women were reported to have lower levels of the chemicals in their blood because women are more likely to lose blood than men are. She said there was also a variation in blood levels because of age.
Lab testing has the possibility of error and Lewis-Mich encourages those who feel like there was a mistake in the testing to call 518-402-7950 to have it repeated.
Concerns about the overall health impacts of PFOA were brought forward by group member Loreen Hackett, who wanted to see more doctors be informed about these health impacts as she felt that more could be done to help educate doctors in the community about treating those with elevated levels of PFOA in their blood.
The Federal Environmental Protection Agency’s stack emission testing results, and New York State’s recommendation on a new drinking water source for Hoosick Falls, were both slated to be released by the end of July, but as of press time, those reports, according to Village Mayor Rob Allen, have not yet been received.