http://www.c8sciencepanel.org/activities.html
For Release January 25, 2005
Contact: Lisa Collins, 304/483-1355
Press conference January
25, 2006
C8 Science Panel Introduced
to Mid-Ohio Valley January 25
The three members of the C-8 Science Panel, chosen
to determine whether a probable link exists between C-8 and human
disease, will be in Parkersburg, WV, to announce the onset of
their research on Wednesday, January 25 at 8:30 am at the Wingate
Inn. The Science Panel is part of a class action settlement of
a lawsuit involving releases of a chemical known as C-8 from DuPont's
Washington Works in Wood County, West Virginia. The Science Panel
will conduct a community epidemiology study and evaluate an ongoing
study of DuPont's workers.
The court also approved Plaintiffs' decision to
use settlement funds for a separate C-8 Health Project, under
the direction of Brookmar, Inc. The Project involves collection
of data from class members including C-8 blood levels, clinical
blood tests, as well as medical and demographic history. This
data set represents a portion of what the Science Panel will evaluate
to answer the question of whether a probable link exists between
C-8 and human disease. The C-8 Health Project is not the Science
Panel's community study.
Under the terms of the settlement, both parties
agreed to each Science Panelist and each is independent from DuPont
and Plaintiffs. After several months of interviews, the parties
selected Drs. Savitz, Fletcher & Steenland.
Dr. Fletcher is an environmental epidemiologist
at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in the
Public and Environmental Health Research Unit, and serves as President
of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology.
Dr. Steenland is Professor at the School of Public
Health at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to coming
to Emory, he worked for 20 years at the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which is part of CDC.
Dr. Savitz recently joined the Mount Sinai School
of Medicine as Professor of Community and Preventive Medicine
and as the Director of the Center of Excellence in Epidemiology,
Biostatistics, and Disease Prevention. He is the author of the
book, Interpreting Epidemiologic Evidence. Until recently, he
was Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the
University of North Carolina School of Public Health.
Each epidemiologist brings a history of specialized
research in environmental and occupational exposures, and will
bring unique perspectives to the study.
C8 Panel Website: http://www.c8sciencepanel.org/index.html