Successful Reduction of Community Exposure to Perfluorooctanoate Through an Environmental Justice Partnership

Residents of the Southeastern Ohio Little Hocking water district had potential water and air exposure to the chemical perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) from its use nearby in fluoropolymer production. PFOA persists in humans and the environment, and causes liver toxicity, cancer, and developmental effects in laboratory animals. EPA considers it a probable human carcinogen. We formed an Environmental Justice Partnership with funding from the NIEHS to PFOA blood levels in residents, relative importance of PFOA sources, and any association with health effects. Blood PFOA levels greatly exceeded those in the US general population. Levels in some community members overlapped those of fluorochemical production workers. The major source was PFOA in drinking water:, age (highest in children and the elderly), tap water drinks per day, servings per week of homegrown fruit and vegetables, and carbon filter use also influenced levels. No acute health effects were found, studies addressing exposures to children and cancer are ongoing. A detailed strategy for communication of the results was developed with the community. As a matter of prudence we recommended that residents consider an alternate (bottled) drinking water wherever water may be ingested orally. On the basis of our findings, the production facility made free bottled water available: 78% of households accepted the offer. We attribute these interventions to changes in the community power balance due to information available to the community and community trust. The results demonstrate the power of independent scientific studies with a community partnership to achieve results of potential public health importance.