Early results of a landmark community study support claims in a new C8 lawsuit, a federal judge was told Wednesday. By . Staff writer CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Early results of a landmark community health study have added to the evidence that the chemical C8 makes people sick, a federal judge heard Wednesday.

Preliminary data from the nearly 70,000-person C8 Health Project support previous findings that the DuPont Co. chemical damages the liver and raises cholesterol levels, Chief U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin was told.

Dr. Barry Levy, an expert witness for Parkersburg residents, told Goodwin that the project is of immense help in understanding C8’s health effects.

“It’s one of the largest studies of its kind ever undertaken in this country,” Levy said. “It has tremendous statistical and epidemiological power.”

Levy testified Wednesday as Goodwin continued hearings in a lawsuit filed against DuPont over pollution of the city of Parkersburg’s drinking water supply with C8 from the company’s nearby plant.

Goodwin is weighing a crucial decision: whether he will allow the case to move forward as a class action, rather than thousands of individual lawsuits.

Lawyers for the residents want DuPont to clean up the water and pay for medical testing to help catch any C8-related illnesses earlier enough to treat them.

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