Read the full press release from the Environmental Working Group
“WASHINGTON – High levels of a ‘toxic forever’ chemical used in firefighting foam have been found in the blood of residents of a West Virginia community near an Air National Guard base.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, or ATSDR, in a January 20 report detailed high levels of the chemical PFHxS in the blood of residents of Berkeley County, W.Va. The report also includes sampling results from household dust and tap water in the community.
The CDC and ATSDR found levels of PFHxS were higher than levels found in the blood of other Americans.
Shepherd Field Air National Guard Base in Berkeley County is among the most likely sources of PFHxS and other forever chemicals known as PFAS. But there are also 13 companies and at least one landfill in the area that are suspected dischargers of PFAS.
PFHxS is one of the most common types of PFAS found at military installations and has been known to be used in firefighting foams used at these sites.
‘West Virginia is just a snapshot of the widespread problem of PFAS contamination plaguing communities across the United States,’ said EWG Senior Vice President for Government Affairs Scott Faber. ‘Every time studies are released on PFAS, the scope of the problem becomes even clearer, and so does the harm to people who are exposed.'”…