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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/news/story/092202004_new06c8studdy.asp

The Marietta Times (Ohio)

September 2, 2004

C8 study needs more people

By Brad Bauer
bbauer@mariettatimes.com

Volunteers are beginning to provide blood samples and fill out questionnaires for an independent study attempting to assess if there are health risks associated with C8 exposure.

About 300 randomly selected people in the Little Hocking Water Association Service District have agreed to participate in the four-year study, funded by the National Institutes of Health. The goal is to sample 400 people living in the Little Hocking water district, which is contaminated by the DuPont chemical.

Additional invitations will be mailed this week to randomly selected households in the Little Hocking area, said Dave Freeman, Decatur Community Association trustee. The community association is a collaborating group in the study.

While volunteers are not accepted for the study, Freeman said an exception is being made for lactating women. Women willing to donate a specimen of blood and milk are asked to contact the doctor doing the study.

"We would like to identify 10 women who are breastfeeding and would be willing do participate," Freeman said. "Otherwise, we are only accepting people who have been notified by the random mailings."

Freeman said that is in order to keep the study scientifically significant.

The Little Hocking study is one of three looking into the possible health effects of C8, a detergent-like material used during the production of Teflon at DuPont's Washington Works plant near Parkersburg.

Concerns about C8 came about in 2001 after a class-action suit was filed in West Virginia alleging DuPont knowingly allowed the chemical to be discharged into local water supplies. That case is set for trial Oct. 11 in Wood County, W.Va., Circuit Court.

DuPont maintains the chemical poses no health risks to humans, but recently began an internal investigation into the health of its employees and the levels of C8 in their bloodsteams. That study is still ongoing.

Doctors hired on behalf of the class-action suit filed against DuPont conducted a test of their own earlier this year.

Although the complete results were not released, one of the doctors involved with the study said the chemical led to an increased risk of cancer.

The Little Hocking study is the only independent study being conducted on the chemical, and it is expected to provide some definite answers.

"A study prepared for litigation - whether it is legit or not - carries baggage," said Ohio EPA Director Christopher Jones. "Likewise, a study by DuPont carries baggage. Only a truly independent study is going to have any legitimacy to it."

Jones said he trusts the levels of C8 found in the Little Hocking water system are safe based on what he knows now, and he would drink the water if he lived there.

"I didn't throw away all of my Teflon pans at home when I heard about all of this either," Jones said. "I think it is the fear of the unknown that bothers people ... but we have to be careful not to be too afraid of the unknown."

Preliminary results from the Little Hocking study could be made available by the end of this year.

National Institutes of Health Study

Needed are customers of the Little Hocking Water Association who are breast feeding. Call Dr. Hong Zhang at (304) 488-3423 to participate.