All adults and children tested near Pa. military bases have PFAS in their blood, study says
Study subjects who lived in Bucks and Montgomery Counties near military bases had water wells that contained PFAS amounts thousands of times over EPA limits.
A widely anticipated national study of thousands of people across eight states found 99% of adults and children who lived near drinking water contaminated by PFAS had levels of the “forever chemicals” in their blood.
Study participants who lived in Bucks and Montgomery Counties near military bases drank from private wells that contained PFAS in amounts that were thousands of times over the limits for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water standards.
Virtually all tested positive for detectable concentrations of five different PFAS compounds.
There are no national health standards for PFAS concentrations in blood, and the authors did not present possible health outcomes in the paper, published in the August edition of Environmental International.
But about 30% of people tested in the two counties had levels of PFAS high enough that they fall within a range the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends for medical testing.
The study also took samples from residents of Gloucester County who lived near industrial areas that caused PFAS contamination.
The research, known as the multisite study of communities with PFAS-contaminated drinking water, was designed and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). It is one of the largest cross-sectional studies designed to figure out how PFAS exposure from drinking water may affect health.
Robert Laumbach, an associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and one of the authors, said this is just the first part of a multipart study.
“It is descriptive about the demographics and characteristics of who we recruited and the PFAS concentrations we measured in blood,” said Laumbach, who is a medical doctor. “It does not include any health outcomes, which are still being analyzed.”
Laumbach said some preliminary health results would be presented to the public at a virtual meeting in late July.
About the study
The study tested the blood of 5,286 adults and 710 children living in communities with known contaminated drinking water in eight states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, and New York.
The authors tested the blood of participants from 2019 to 2023 for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known simply as PFAS. The human-made chemicals have been used since the 1940s to make waterproof garments, nonstick pans, grease-resistant items, and firefighting foams.
» READ MORE: PFAS testing planned for 1,300 adults, children in Bucks, Montgomery Counties
Known harmful health effects of PFAS include increased cholesterol, pregnancy-induced high blood pressure and preeclampsia, changes in liver enzymes, decreased vaccine response, small decreases in birth weight, and increased risk of kidney and testicular cancer, according to the study’s authors.
They are often referred to as “forever chemicals” because of their resistance to breaking down in humans, animals, and the environment.
Among the study’s findings:
4 PFAS compounds (PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, and PFNA) were found in the blood of almost every adult and child.
Adults had higher average levels of PFOA and PFHxS than adults in the general U.S. population.
Children had higher average levels of PFHxS than children in the general U.S. population
PFAS are widely spread throughout the environment and in people.
A recent Pennsylvania State University-led study published in the Journal of Environmental Management found that of 167 private water wells tested across Pennsylvania, 65% had detectable levels of PFAS. And 18% of the wells exceeded federally acceptable levels for PFAS.
Indeed, the high numbers of people shown to have been exposed to the chemicals in the latest study are similar to those of previous studies. Data from a separate National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey show that nearly 100% of people in the U.S. have been exposed to at least one PFAS.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey
In the new ATSDR study, 1,252 adults and 89 children were tested in Pennsylvania. Linda Morris Brown, an epidemiologist, is the principal investigator for Pennsylvania in the study.
The participants lived near the Horsham Air Guard Station and former Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove, and the Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster site where aqueous firefighting foam was used. The foam was widely used and contained PFAS to create a film on a fuel surface to smother flames and suppress vapors.
Private wells in the area tested for as much as 5,000 parts per trillion for PFOS. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard is 4.0 parts per trillion.
Of the adults tested, 379, or 30%, had a total sum of concentrations of seven PFAS compounds in their blood that would recommend medical testing.
In New Jersey, 776 adults and 88 children were tested near industrial sites in Paulsboro and West Deptford in Gloucester County.
New Jersey sued Solvay Specialty Polymers and reached a $393 million settlement in 2023 over PFAS contamination in the area.
Of those tested in New Jersey, up to 98% tested positive for at least one compound.
Overall, elevated concentrations of PFOA and PFHxS were found in the blood of those living in Pennsylvania, as well as other states. Elevated levels of PFNA were found in New Jersey.
‘Shouldn’t be in our blood’
Researchers not only took blood samples from study participants but also asked about their health, including whether they suffered from any illnesses such as high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, or kidney, liver, and thyroid problems.
Researchers asked about immune, autoimmune, and inflammatory-related diseases, as well as information on pregnancies and births. They looked at race and ethnicity. They asked who smoked or drank alcohol.
Laumbach said the data will allow researchers to cross-tabulate results. The health-related data are to be presented at a conference in Atlanta in August, though they have not yet been peer-reviewed.
Laumbach said some preliminary results will be presented to the public at a CDC and ATSDR virtual public meeting scheduled for July 28 from 5 to 6:45 p.m.
“We have some idea for some of the major health outcomes that we’re looking at, like blood cholesterol levels, thyroid disease and thyroid hormones, metabolic syndrome, blood pressure,” Laumbach said. “The key is certainly that these compounds shouldn’t be in our blood, but they are and we have to deal with that. What can we do to stop the exposure?”