Federal agencies plan to investigate links between PFAS exposure and viral illness

By Brett Walton | Circle of Blue | April 8, 2021

Read the full article by Brett Walton (Circle of Blue)

“Two federal health agencies are planning to investigate potential links between exposure to toxic PFAS chemicals and susceptibility to viral illnesses like Covid-19.

The study would build on federally funded investigations of PFAS exposure in nine communities near U.S. military bases where the chemicals were found in drinking water. Researchers hope to enroll 4,075 people from those previous investigations in the new assessment.

A collaboration between the National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the study will be based on health questionnaires sent to people who have already had blood samples drawn for the PFAS exposure assessments.

Laurel Schaider, a senior scientist at Silent Spring Institute, told Circle of Blue that the agencies can leverage their data on PFAS levels in blood serum to provide valuable insights on the connection between chemical exposure and disease.

‘It provides a good opportunity to address some of these questions,’ said Schaider, who is leading a separate ATSDR-funded study in two Massachusetts communities of the health impacts of PFAS exposure in drinking water…”

This content provided by the PFAS Project.