Fw: [MSViews_Multiple_Sclerosis] C-8-type chemicals found in humans

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From: " Jeff " <jeffAfrankel@...>

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Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2004 10:12 AM

Subject: [MSViews_Multiple_Sclerosis] C-8-type chemicals found in humans

> C-8-type chemicals found in humans

> Compounds seen in people worldwide

> By JEFF MONTGOMERY

> Staff reporter

> 08/01/2004

>

> People around the world are carrying in their blood traces of

> chemicals associated with stain-resistant and nonstick coatings and

> similar goods, according to a newly published report.

>

> Bloodstream levels of the compounds, a type of perfluorochemical, are

> higher where the consumer products are common, the report said. The

> compounds include a chemical used by the DuPont Co. for Teflon

> production and other activities, including some at its Chambers Works

> plant at the foot of the Delaware Memorial Bridge in Deepwater, N.J.

>

> Eleven researchers from 10 nations collaborated on the examination of

> perfluoronated compounds in human bloodstreams, published on the

> Internet by Environmental Science & Technology in advance of regular

> print publication. A division of the American Chemical Society, a

> national professional and scientific organization, publishes the

> bimonthly magazine.

>

> The study analyzed blood from 473 samples from city and suburban

> residents on four continents. Levels of the most common compounds

> proved highest in the United States and Poland, and lowest in India.

>

> " Prolonged use of perfluorochemicals for a wide variety of

> applications, such as paper and packing products, residential and

> mill-applied carpet and spraying, stain resistant textiles and

> cleaners, may be a major source of human exposure to these

> compounds, " the study said.

>

> The findings added to a growing number of studies and calls for more

> research regarding perfluoronated chemicals, a group that in general

> features carbon atoms strongly bonded to fluorine atoms in ways that

> are highly resistant to breakdown. Attention in recent years has

> turned from their durability to their potential toxicity, long-term

> health effects and tendency to linger in the environment and

> accumulate in living tissue.

>

> Earlier research had reported the same chemicals can be found in the

> bloodstreams of virtually all U.S. citizens. Some of the compounds

> are the same or similar to those used to make DuPont's Teflon and

> other mass-market consumer goods and coatings - including fast-food

> packaging - and are under Environmental Protection Agency scrutiny

> for potential health risks.

>

> " This just shows that it's not just a domestic concern, but a global

> problem, " said J. Kropp, a senior scientist with

> Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit group that has called for a

> ban on perfluoronated compounds.

>

> DuPont referred questions on the study to the Society of the Plastics

> Industry, an umbrella group. Heinze, a researcher and science

> and communications consultant who works with the plastics group, said

> the compounds have not been proven harmful at the levels found in the

> bloodstream study.

>

> R. Clifton Webb, a DuPont spokesman, said the company has voluntarily

> reduced emissions of perfluoronated compounds by 98 percent over the

> past five years. Sites affected by the reduction include the

> company's Chambers Works industrial wastewater plant.

>

> Webb said the company expects its releases of perfluorooctanoic acid,

> or PFOA, to the Delaware River will fall to 3,700 pounds by the end

> of the year. A document filed with New Jersey regulators last year

> indicated that the company was releasing PFOA, also called C-8 by

> DuPont, at roughly a 12,000 pound annual rate that year.

>

> Another company, 3M, phased out use of perfluorooctyl sulfonates, or

> PFOS, in making stain repellents and other products after the EPA

> said that the compounds persist in the environment, build up in

> living tissues and pose long-term health threats, including possible

> cancer risks.

>

> EPA officials this month accused DuPont of failing to provide prompt

> health-related information to regulators about potential risks and

> releases involving C-8 at the company's West Virginia plant.

>

> The action, which could cost DuPont millions of dollars in penalties,

> came weeks after the EPA announced a plan to conduct its own study of

> some of the chemicals and their fate in the environment after months

> of effort to agree on voluntary industry-financed research.

>

> DuPont Co. last week reported setting aside $45 million to cover

> potential costs from a class action lawsuit for releasing C-8 from

> its West Virginia Teflon works. The company is accused of

> contaminating the drinking water supplies of 30,000 people in the

> Ohio River Valley. Company officials have agreed to supply alternate

> drinking water supplies if contamination levels creep too high.

>

> A separate report the company provided to Delaware regulators said

> the Chambers Works operation is " not a significant source " of PFOA,

> or C-8, in the environment.

>

> The international research project found levels of PFOA were highest

> among Korean women. The same chemical was found in 100 percent of

> blood tested from Kentucky, New York City, the United Kingdom,

> Colombia, Poland and Belgium.

>

> PFOS was found at even higher levels. Other studies have found the

> same compounds in wildlife around the world.

>

> Reach Jeff Montgomery at 678-4277 or jmontgomery@....

>

>

>

>

>

>

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