Something’s gotten in The Charleston Gazette’s blood – and ours, too. You want to know the future? One word. Plastics:
Around the world, scientists are closely examining C8 and a related chemical called PFOS. A growing body of evidence shows these chemicals are linked to a variety of adverse health effects.
In West Virginia, concern about C8 has focused on the DuPont Co. plant near Parkersburg, which used the chemical for decades to make Teflon and other non-stick and stain-resistant products. Residents there have very high levels of C8 in their blood, from drinking polluted water and breathing polluted air, scientists say.
But the new study out this week focused on trying to pinpoint how PFOA and PFOS ended up in the blood of average humans who don’t live near a chemical plant that makes or uses the materials.
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“This class of chemicals is present in human serum,” said Laurence Libelo, an EPA scientist who worked on the study. “We didn’t know that before, until we went out and looked.”
You can read the full study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
PFOS has been linked to a number of health problems, including suppressing the immune system, lowering “good” cholesterol, interference with thyroid hormones, low birth weight, developmental delays in juveniles, and damage to the liver and other internal organs.
Plus, you know, it’s plastic.