Read full article by Jennifer Crompton (WMUR)
“PORTSMOUTH, N.H. —The Pease Tradeport is home to a first-in-the-nation study on the effects of contaminants from firefighting foam that have been discovered in drinking water there.
The per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, were found in a well in 2014. Officials said the chemicals were in firefighting foam that was used when the tradeport was an airbase…
‘The Air Force took action and we were able to get money for a health study into the Defense Authorization Bill, and it’s actually beginning right here at Pease in Portsmouth,’ said U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry officials joined others Friday to discuss the launch of the study.
‘To be here today at the start of a health study after five years of working really hard towards this is a really powerful moment for me,’ said Andrea Amico, co-founder of Testing for Pease.
Researchers hope to include 1,000 adults and 350 children who were exposed to Pease water and who opted for blood testing between 2015 and 2018. The study will also include a comparison group of 100 similar adults and 175 children who were not exposed.
‘We’ll ask them to fill out a questionnaire, so we’ll gain information about their medical history, their exposure history, their drinking water patterns, where they work,’ said Dr. Patrick Breysse, of the CDC Center for Environmental Health. ‘We’ll ask them a series of health questions. We’ll collect information on the medications they take. We’ll collect a urine sample and a blood sample.’
Children will also undergo behavioral health testing…
Similar studies are planned in seven other cities across the country. Researchers said they hope to have results in about two years.”