High C8 chemical levels reported in Ohio

United Press International, Staff
Published July 28, 2005

VINCENT, Ohio -- Researchers say people living near an Ohio River DuPont plant that makes Teflon have much higher-than-normal blood levels of a controversial chemical. The plant's neighbors have up to 80 times as much C8 in their blood as most other Americans, probably from their drinking water, according to a University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study issued Wednesday. The federally funded study is one of the first independent scientific attempts to determine whether the chemical is harmful to humans, the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported Thursday. Officials of the Little Hocking Water Association, which supplies water to most of the 326 southeastern Ohio people tested, told the Dispatch they hope to use the information to persuade DuPont to pay for a new system to bring in clean water. But DuPont issued a statement Wednesday, saying: The company remains confident that its operations are safe for the community and the environment. Health studies suggest most people's bodies have C8 levels of 5 parts per billion. The Pennsylvania school's study of four Ohio River communities around Vincent, Ohio, found median C8 blood levels ranging as high as 369 parts per billion.