News Coverage
Study links C8 to higher cancer rates
Published May 4, 2004
People exposed to C8 from DuPont Co.'s Parkersburg chemical plant have elevated cancer rates, according to a new scientific study.
The study examined 599 residents living near DuPont's Washington Works and used internal DuPont data on cancer among plant workers.
Researchers found high rates of prostate cancer in men and cervical and uterine cancer in women. They also found elevated rates of less common cancers such as non-Hodgkin's, leukemia and multiple myeloma.
"This data suggests that exposure to [C8] may alter cancer distribution in exposed populations (worker and residents) and may be an important risk factor for an excess of cancer cases," the study concluded.
Robert Rickard, a top DuPont toxicologist, said that the company needed more information about the new study before he could comment.
"We certainly haven't seen any details of the study, so we have concerns about certain aspects," Rickard said earlier this week.
C8 is another name for perfluorooctanoate, and is also known as perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA. At its Washington Works plant, DuPont has used C8 for more than 50 years in the production of Teflon.
In a class-action lawsuit against DuPont, residents allege that the chemical giant has known for decades that C8 was harmful to humans, but concealed that knowledge from the public.
Last week, DuPont officials announced that they planned their own, $1 million study of the potential effect of C8 on plant workers.
At the time, DuPont told workers and the media that the company remained confident C8 was not dangerous to humans.
"While we strongly believe that scientific evidence clearly supports the conclusion that [C8] causes no adverse human health effects, we want to add to our knowledge about this material," the company told workers in a "questions and answers" paper about the internal health survey.
Two weeks ago, toxicologist Dr. James Dahlgren announced the results of his own C8 study. Dahlgren presented the results at the annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicologists and Chemists, or SETAC, in Prague, Czech Republic.
Dahlgren performed the study as part of his work as an expert toxicologist for lawyers representing the DuPont plant neighbors.
A summary of Dahlgren's paper is posted on the SETAC Web site at www.setac.org.
Lawyers for the residents also sent a copy of the material to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which placed it into public files.
In his Prague presentation, Dahlgren said that animal studies have shown that C8 is "responsible for multiple adverse health effects."
Previous human studies, he said, "reported significant prevalence of cancer in the prostate, kidney, bladder, colon and others."
For his study, Dahlgren recruited volunteers with radio, television and newspaper advertisements in the Parkersburg area.
All of the residents who take part are members of the class suing DuPont in Wood Circuit Court.
The study reported that the overall cancer rate among the plant neighbors was 10 percent, more than twice the U.S. rate.
In an interview, Dahlgren said that DuPont was wrong to continue to tell the public that C8 has not been found dangerous to humans.
"I would not agree with their conclusion," Dahlgren said. "There is clear evidence of health effects."