MontCo Part of CDC Study On PFAS (ICYMI)

HORSHAM, PA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday the start of a multi-site health study on PFAS and Montgomery County will be one of the test sites.

The CDC and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry are investigating the relationship between drinking water contaminated with the toxic chemicals and health outcomes.

Communities in the Horsham and Warminster areas have been impacted by PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) that have been blamed on a firefighting foam used at nearby Willow Grove Naval Base.

A $1 million award was granted to RTI International and the Pennsylvania Department of Health to look into the issue in Montgomery County. Similar awards were granted to institutions in Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey, Massachussetts, New York and California.

"There is much that is unknown about the health effects of exposures to these chemicals," said Dr. Patrick Breysse, director of ATSDR and CDC's National Center for Environmental Health. "The multi-site study will advance the scientific evidence on the human health effects of PFAS and provide some answers to communities exposed to the contaminated drinking water."

The multi-site health study was authorized by the National Defense Authorization Acts of 2018 and 2019 to provide information to communities about the health effects of PFAS exposure.

Government officials say this is the first study to look at exposure to multiple PFAS at sites across the nation. The information learned from the multi-site study will help all communities in the U.S. with PFAS drinking water exposures by allowing communities and governmental agencies to make better decisions about how to protect public health.

The goal of the multi-site study, according to the CDC, is to understand the relationship between PFAS exposure and health outcomes in differing populations.

The scientific evidence linking PFAS exposures with adverse health effects is increasing. Some studies in people have shown that exposure to certain PFAS might affect people's health in the following ways, according to the CDC:

• Adversely affect growth, learning, and behavior of infants and children
• Lower a woman's chance of getting pregnant
• Interfere with the body's natural hormones
• Increase cholesterol levels
• Affect the immune system
• Increase the risks for some cancers

The multi-site study will recruit at least 2,000 children ages 4–17 and 6,000 adults 18 and older who were exposed to PFAS-contaminated drinking water. Participants and birth mothers of eligible children cannot have a history of work exposure to PFAS.

PFAS are man-made chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1950s. They have been used in non-stick cookware, water-repellent clothing, stain-resistant fabrics and carpets, some cosmetics, some firefighting foams and products that resist grease, water, and oil.