Read the full article by Andy Pierrotti (Atlanta News First)
“Three scientists are calling for more testing of a dangerous toxin impacting residents who live in the Rome, Georgia, area. It’s in response to an Atlanta News First investigation that uncovered elevated levels of the chemical compound in some residents’ blood.
For decades, the Oostanaula River that supplied Rome’s drinking water was contaminated with perfluoroalkyl (PFAS). The chemical group is linked to serious illness, including cancer.
City officials switched to a different water source in 2017, but many residents have always wondered how the contaminated water impacted them prior to the disclosure.
When the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) said it didn’t have plans to investigate, Atlanta News First Investigates purchased testing kits that can measure the total values of some of the most common PFAS and asked Rome-area residents to test their blood.
The test results revealed every participant has some level of PFAS in their blood, which was expected. One report by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found PFAS in the blood of 97% of Americans. The synthetic chemical group is used in hundreds of household products to make things water and stain resistant, including nonstick cookware and food packaging.
But the amount of PFAS detected in the participants’ blood raises concern: Nearly all of the 11 participants who tested their blood showed levels higher than the national median.
Scientists react
Atlanta News First asked three scientists with PFAS research backgrounds to review the results and provide their opinions.
‘I wasn’t terribly surprised, but I do think that there is some exposure that is occurring in this region or these people obviously,’ said Dana Barr, a professor at Emory University’s Rollings School of Public Health, who has conducted extensive PFAS related research. ‘So maybe identifying some of these sources to see if they’re common to the community would be a good thing to do.
‘You could use this information to go to the city, or to the state [and ask for] an exposure study in this area,’ she said. ‘It warrants it given this information.’
Jane Hoppin, a North Carolina State University professor, agrees, and said even the small sample size collected show elevated levels. ‘It’s a little bit surprising that eight years after the water was turned off, is that you still see elevated levels, but it’s not entirely surprising because these chemicals persist in our bodies over time,’ Hoppin said. ‘So it will take a long time for the chemicals to leave to the bodies.’
Hoppin pointed to new recommendations released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in 2022, which called for more testing of people with a history of known elevated PFAS exposure. ‘[I]f testing reveals PFAS levels associated with an increased risk of adverse effects, patients should receive regular screenings and monitoring for these and other health impacts,’ the report said.
‘Everybody should be tested, almost everybody, particularly in communities where we know the water has been contaminated,’ said Hoppin, who conducted an exposure study in the Wilmington, North Carolina, area after PFAS was discovered in the Cape Fear River, which supplies the city’s drinking water.
David Andrews, a scientist with the Environmental Working Group, believes the state’s health department should take action.
‘They should be concerned and they should be responding in terms of what are the action plans for this community and what needs to be done to ensure that these residents are either getting the increased medical attention they deserve or increased study,’ said Andrews, one of the lead researchers involving a study published this year that found freshwater fish with PFAS levels.
State response
DPH officials declined interview requests to discuss the results and the scientists’ reactions.
In a prepared statement, the agency said it has no plans to conduct testing. ‘Without direct oversite and knowledge of how the tests were administered, the control and submission of the specimens, or the accuracy of the tests, it would be irresponsible for DPH to comment on the results of these self-administered tests,’ said DPH spokesperson Nancy Nydam.
Nydam said large scale testing should be most performed by universities in most cases. She also said the Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is the government agency that would determine the need for an exposure study. ATSDR is actively involved in PFAS studies around the country, but not Rome.
The agency said it also has not provided Rome-area primary care physicians with training or documentation to help them better understand PFAS exposure because it has not been requested.
‘Requests for information or education – from the community, or physicians, or both – would often be made to the health district in the area, in this instance the Northwest Health District,’ Nydam said. ‘As is the case at state level, the health district has not received any requests for information or education.’
Nydam said DPH does not provide clinical guidance to physicians or healthcare providers unless it comes from the CDC or if clinical standards and/or protocols have been established.
While the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released clinic recommendations last year, the state doesn’t recognize those recommendations because they’re not from the CDC. The report was authored or reviewed by more than 90 scientists, academics and advocates from universities across the country, including Barr and Hoppin.
Test result details
Atlanta News First Investigates used 11 tests developed by Eurofins. The company specializes in food, environment, pharmaceutical and other types of testing.
About two years ago, it developed the first take-home PFAS blood testing kit, which costs between $250 and $400 per test.
The test measures the total concentration of the seven most common PFAS. Nationally, the total median amount of PFAS in blood human blood is about 8 ng/mL, or nanograms per milliliter, the unit of measurement most commonly used to express drug testing cut-off levels and quantitative test results .
Of the 11 participants who had their blood tested, nine had levels at or above the national median. Every participant has lived in the Rome-area for at least 20 years. Their ages ranged from 34 to 77 years old.
Alvin Jackson’s PFAS levels were the highest of all the 11 participants, nearly seven times the national median. ‘I’m wondering, how is this going to affect me directly,’ Jackson said, who also sits on the Rome City Schools Board of Education. ”Am I going to develop some kind of cancer, some type of disease?’ he said.
The participant with the lowest PFAS levels is Callie Swafford, who, for nearly 10 years, has drawn her drinking water from a natural spring about 30 minutes outside the city.
Mike Elliot’s test results showed his blood contained more than twice the national median. He and the rest of the participants want the state to do more to measure the impact of the PFAS contamination.
‘It seems like we should be able to yell and scream at somebody,’ Elliot said. ‘Something needs to be done.’
Barr agrees, but says funding is the issue. ‘That’s the problem,’ she said. ‘Somebody has to fund it.’
Earlier this year, the city of Rome settled lawsuits with chemical companies, the city of Dalton and carpet manufacturers for millions of dollars after claiming each played a role in contaminating the Oostanaula River with PFAS.
The settlement money will be used to help build a new plant that can remove PFAS from its drinking water. The city attorney said the money is not intended to be used for an exposure study at this time.
This past July, U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Michigan) introduced bipartisan legislation requiring Medicare to cover the cost for PFAS blood testing for seniors. The measure has been endorsed by Democrats and Republicans, including U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Nancy Mace (R-SC). Each lawmaker represents a district with known PFAS exposure.
But even if the law is passed, it would not cover the cost for everyone. Access to the test is still cost prohibitive for most Americans because it’s not typically covered by health insurance.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene represents the Rome, Georgia, area. Atlanta News First Investigates repeatedly contacted Greene’s office in regards to the PFAS blood test results, but did not receive a response.”