C8. July 8, 2004. Editorial. Our Opinion: Little Hocking water users urged to join study on C8. The Marietta Times, Ohio.

FLUORIDE ACTION NETWORK PESTICIDE PROJECT

Return to Newspaper articles and Documents related to this Class Action

C8 or C-8: PFOA is perfluorooctanoic acid and is sometimes called C8. It is a man-made chemical and does not occur naturally in the environment. The "PFOA" acronym is used to indicate not only perfluorooctanoic acid itself, but also its principal salts.
The PFOA derivative of greatest concern and most wide spread use is the ammonium salt (Ammonium perfluorooctanoate) commonly known as C8, C-8, or APFO and the chemical of concern in the Class Action suit in Ohio.

Ammonium perfluorooctanoate (APFO or C8)
CAS No. 3825-26-1. Molecular formula:

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA or C8)
CAS No: 335-67-1. Molecular formula:

The DuPont site where APFO is used as a reaction aid is the Washington Works (Route 892, Washington, West Virginia 26181) located along the Ohio River approximately seven miles southwest of Parkersburg, West Virginia.

The Little Hocking Water Association well field is located in Ohio on the north side of the Ohio River immediately across from the Washington Works facility. Consumers of this drinking water have brought a Class Action suit against the Association and DuPont for the contamination of their drinking water with DuPont's APFO, which residents and media refer to as C8.

PFOA is used as a processing aid in the manufacture of fluoropolymers to produce hundreds of items such as non-stick surfaces on cookware (TEFLON), protective finishes on carpets (SCOTCHGUARD, STAINMASTER), clothing (GORE-TEX), and the weather-resistant barrier sheeting used on homes under the exterior siding (TYVEK).

http://www.mariettatimes.com/edit/story/078202004_edtoplop.asp

The Marietta Times (Ohio)

Thursday, July 08, 2004

Our Opinion: Little Hocking water users urged to join study on C8

Four hundred Little Hocking Water Association customers are needed for a study to determine what levels of the chemical C8 in their blood and how long it's been there. We would think anyone drinking water with C8 in it would rush to be part of this study.

The study is important for a number of reasons. It's purpose is to determine what levels of C8 are in residents' systems by measuring levels in blood and breastmilk. It's also important because the $840,000 study will span four years and is being carried out by an entity other than the company responsible for the contamination.

This study is being conducted by The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Occupational Medicine Program of the HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital. The study is made possible through a grant.

C8 is the name of a chemical used in the production of Teflon. It comes from the DuPont plant in Washington, W.Va., and has been found in our region's land, water and air. It's been found in the drinking water wells which are used by Little Hocking Water and its 4,000 customers and while DuPont first began monitoring the effects of C8 on employees back in the 1980s it became a public concern after a class action suit was filed against the company in 2001.

DuPont currently is conducting another study of contamination levels in employees, but we think it even more significant to test for the chemical in residents who have been exposed to C8 somewhere other than the plant itself. Only through the testing of residents can we really know the impact of this chemical on the community at large.

DuPont claims the chemical is safe. But at certain levels it has been found to be harmful to lab animals and at least one medical expert has claimed to have completed a study that found it harmful to humans, too. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency is conducting an investigation into whether the chemical should be formally regulated. But right now, it isn't, so testing residents is all the more important toward finding out once and for all what impact the chemical has on our community and the people who live here.

Mailings are going out to residents this week. We urge customers of the Little Hocking Water Association to participate in the study and anyone else who may know their private water source is contaminated with C8. It's clear a comprehensive look at this chemical and its effects is needed and this study will help accomplish that.