Tens of thousands of Mid-Ohio Valley residents have elevated levels of the toxic chemical C8 in their blood, a landmark new health study has confirmed. By . Staff writer Tens of thousands of Mid-Ohio Valley residents have elevated levels of the toxic chemical C8 in their blood, a landmark new health study has confirmed.

Residents of communities around DuPont Co.'s Parkersburg plant have more than five times more C8 in their blood than the average American, according to the first official study data, made public this week.

"It's true, and it's not surprising that it's true," said Dr. Alan Ducatman a West Virginia University researcher and principal investigator for the C8 Health Project. "These folks are not like what you find around America."

Previous reports have found high levels of C8 in the blood of DuPont plant neighbors.

One earlier study, however, looked at only 324 residents and another, by DuPont, at a dozen residents. Preliminary data from the C8 Health Project, made public against the wishes of some of the scientists involved, included about 24,000 residents.

The C8 Health Study is examining blood samples from about 65,000 of the nearly 69,000 residents who signed up for the project.

Data made public this week showed a median C8 concentration of 28 parts per billion in residents' blood. That compares to a median level in the general U.S. population of about 5 parts per billion found in other studies.

Customers of the Little Hocking Water District in Ohio, believed to be the most polluted by C8, showed a median concentration of 132 parts per billion of the chemical in their blood.

One Little Hocking resident had the highest level of those tested, 22,412 parts per billion.

C8 is another name for ammonium perfluorooctanoate, or PFOA. DuPont has used the chemical since the 1950s at its Washington Works plant south of Parkersburg. C8 is a processing agent used to make Teflon and other nonstick products, oil-resistant paper packaging and stain-resistant textiles.

Researchers are finding that people around the world have C8 in their blood in low levels. Evidence is mounting about the chemical's dangerous effects, but regulators have not set a federal standard for its safety.

Full Story: http://sundaygazettemail.com/News/200804050030