Post on 08-Jul-2018
8/19/2019 Nys Doh Pfoa Fact Sheet 1215
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Departmen
of Health
PERFLUOROOCTANOIC ACID
(PFOA)
IN DRINKTNG
WATERO
HOOSICK FALLS'
NEW
YORK
LONG FACT
SHEET
DECEMBER 2OI5
Important
Points
{. PFOA is
used n consumer
roducts
nd
s found
at ow levels n the blood
of
most
Americans.
*
Human studies
show hat
increased
xposureo PFOA might increase
he risk for
some
health
effects. The studies ave
scientific imitations,
nd he
results ave
not been
consistent.
A
We
determined FOA levels
n samplesrom
he HoosickFallsPublic
WaterSystem.
Healtheffectsare not expected o occur rom normaluse of the water.
*
Nonetheless, e recommend
hatmeasures
e aken o reduce
eople's
exposureo
PFOA.
t A
shorter ersion
of this
fact
sheet s
alsoavailable.
Center
or
New
York
State
Prepared
y
Environmental
Health
Department
of
Health
8/19/2019 Nys Doh Pfoa Fact Sheet 1215
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Departmen
of Health
What is PFOA?
Perfluorooctanoic
cid
(PFOA,
alsoknown
as C8 or
perfluorooctanoate)
s
a manufbctured
hemical hat
belongs
o a
group
of fluorine-containing
hemicals
alled
perfluorinated
hemicals
PFCs)1.
These
hemicals
were
and are used o make household
nd commercial
products
hat resistheat
and chemical eactions,
nd repe
oil, stains,
grease,
nd water.
What do
we
know
about PFOA's
use n consumer
products?
PFOA
was once widely
used n nonstick
cookware, n
surface oatings or
stain-resistant
arpets nd bbric,
and
in
paper
and cardboard ood
packaging such
as microwave
popcorn
bags
and
ast
ood containers).
PFOA was
also used n fire-fighting
foam
and
n
many
products
or
the aerospace,
utomotive,
building/construction,
nd
electronicsndustries.
PFOA
use n the manuf-acturing
f consumer
roducts
n
the U.S. s
slowlydeclining. n2006,
eightmajor
PFOA
manufacturers
greed o
participate
n
the U.S. Environmenta l
Protection
Agency's
(US
EPA)
PFOA
StewardshipProgram. The
participating
companiesmadevoluntary
commitments
o
reduce
product
content
and acility
emissions f PFOA
and elated
hemicals y 95o/o,o later
han2010.
Companies lsoagreed
o
work
toward eliminating
useof thesesubstances
n their
products
by 2015. According
o the US EPA,
participating
manufacturers
re on track
o
reach
he
program's
goal
of
phasing
out thesechemicals
by the end
of 2015. However,
PFOA may
still be found n
products
manufacturedn
othercountries.
What do we know
about
PFOA
in the
environment?
PFOA
gets
nto
the environment rom industrial
acilities
hat makePFOA
or use
PFOA
to make other
products. It also enters he environmentwhen releasedicm PFOA-containing onsumer roductsduring heir
use and disposal
for
example, hroughdischargesiom
wastewaterreatment
lants
or leakage rom landfil ls).
PFOA
can also be formed from
other
related
chemicalswhen
hey breakdown in the
environment.
PFOA can remain n
the environment,
articularly
n
water, or many
years.
PFOA
can
move
throughsoil and
into
groundwater,
r be carried n air. PFOA has
been
ound
n soi l, sediment, nd water
samples
ar
away
rom
where t was made
or used. The highest evels
of PFOA n the environment
re ypically
found
near ndustrial
facilities
hat
manufacture
r usePFOA.
How might I
be exposed o PFOA?
Although
the levelsof PFOA in fbod
are
generally
ow,
food is expectedo be the
primary
sourceof exposure
to PFOA lbr most
people.
People
can also be exposed o PFOA throughwater,air, soil, dust,and rom various
consumer
products
fbr
example,
contact
with rugs
or furniture reatedwith PFOA-containing
roducts).
However, exposure iom consumer
roducts
s
expectedo declinewith the
reduction
and eventualelimination
I
Scientists ften
efer
o
PFCs
usingdifferentnames,ncluding
erfluorochemicals,erfluoroalkyls,erfluorinated
lkyl
acids,
olyfluorinated
hemicals,
olyfluorinated
ompounds, nd
polyfluoroalkyl
ubstances.
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Departmen
of Health
of PFOA in consumer
products.
Fetalexposure an occur
via
the
placenta,
nd nfantscan be exposed ia
mother'sbreastmilk.
Is PFOA found in humans?
Studiesshow hat
human
exposure o
PFOA is widespread
nd hat
most
people
have ow levelsof PFOA in
their blood. PFOA doesnot breakdown in thehumanbodyand canbe present n blood for yearsafter
exposure.
Thus, PFOA
blood
levels argely reflect
otal
exposure
ver
many
years.
The time it takes or PFOA
blood
levels
o
go
down by
half,,
on average,
s
about wo to
four
years,
assuming
here s no additional
exposure o the chemical.
What health
effectsare associated
ith PFOA
exposure?
Humans
Human
studiesshow associations etween
ncreased FOA levels n
blood and an
ncreased
isk tbr several
healtheffects. Someof theseeffectswere dentifiedby a specialstudy
of a
largenumber
of
people
iving near
a
PFOA manufacturing
plant
in the Ohio River Valley of Ohio
and West
Virginia. These
ef'fects
nclude:
.
high
cholesterolevels,
o
changes
n
thyroid
hormone,
o
ulcerativecolitis
(autoimmune
disease),
o
pre-eclampsia
a
complication f
pregnancy
hat
ncludes
igh blood
pressure),
nd
o
kidney and esticularcancer.
Studiesof otherpopulationsshowedeffectson the liver, the mmune system,and high serumuric acid evels,
which may be associated ith an ncreased isk
of
high
blood
pressure.
Data
on the effectsof
PFOA
on children aremixed. Somestudies
how
no
association etween ncreased
lood
PFOA levelsand ncreased isk
of stillbirths,
premature
irth, or
birth defects. Other studies how an
association etween ncreasedPFOA
blood evelsand ncreasedisks for severalhealth
effects n children
(for
example,effectson birth weight,
cognitiveand behavioraldevelopment,mmune unction,
and cholesterol
levels).
There s no
conclusiveevidence hat PFOA
causes ancer n humans. The InternationalAgency for Research
on
Cancer
IARC)
classifies FOA as possibly
carcinogenicn humans ased
n
limited
evidencen humans
and animals
see
below).
Overall, he human studies
are difficult to interpretbecauseesults
are
not
consistent mongstudies. Some
studies ound associations etween ncreased
FOA exposure nd
a
health
effect,
while
other studiesdid not,
even hough he studies ooked or
the same ype of healtheffect. Because
f the scientific imitations
of the
studies,we
cannotdeterminewhetherPFOA causedhe effects
een n
people
with elevated FOA evels,
or
fnew
YORK
(_
STATE
\r-
8/19/2019 Nys Doh Pfoa Fact Sheet 1215
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(-nzw
YORK
.
,
STATE
\r-
Departmen
of Health
be sure hat
hether
other non-PFOA actors
contributed o increased
isks of health
effbcts. Thus.we cannot
PFOA caused
he observed ffects.
Animals
The
primary
non-cancer
ft-ects bserved n
animalsexposed
o
high levels
of PFOA include iver
toxicity,
developmentaloxicity (birth defbcts, elayeddevelopment), nd mmunesystem oxicity. PFOA caused
cancerof the liver,
pancreas,
nd estis n male rats ed
argeamounts or
their lifbtimes. However,PFOA
has
not
been ested br carcinogenic
cancer-causing)otential
n mice or
otheranimal species.Thus, he
US
EPA
considers FOA
to have suggestive
vidence f carcinogenic
otential
ecause nly onespecies as
been
evaluated.
The
primary
way that PFOA
causes ffbcts n animals
suchas rats andmice s
not fully understood.
Some
studiessuggest
hat
PFOA
causes ffects n rodents,
articularly
cancer n rats,
by a specificbiological
process
that
is
more active n rodents
han humans
that
s,
humansare ess
sensitive han rodents o
the
process).
This
raises
someuncertainty
abouthow relevant he
effectsobservedn rodents
are o evaluating
he
humanhealth
risks from PFOA.
It is
possible,
however,
hat PFOA may
be harmful o humans ia
processes
ifferent han
those n
animals.
Are
there federal or New York
State egulations,
tandards, r
guidelines
or PFOA
in drinking water?
The US EPA doesnot have
an enfbrceable ealth-based
rinking water
standard
called
a maximum
contaminant evel
or MCL) fbr PFOA. The
US EPA doeshave
a temporary
provisional
health
advisory
evel
(a
non-enforceable
uidance
alue) fbr PFOA of 400
partsper
rillion
(ppt)
for
evaluating he risk of non-cancer
effects
rom
short-termPFOA
exposure
weeks
o months).
The New York StateDepartment
of Health
(NYS
DOH)
doeshavean enforceable
rinking water standard
(MCL)
of 50,000
ppt
fbr
any chemical
including
PFOA)
classified san unspecified
rganic ontaminant
under Sub-part5-l of the
StateSanitaryCode. It only applies
o chemicals, uchas PFOA, that do not havea
health-based
tandard erived iom its
toxicitv data.
What did the NYS DOH's 2015
sampling esults or the HoosickFalls Public Water
Systemand
private
wells show
In the summerof 2015, he NYS DOH measured
he PFOA evels n severalwatersamples ollected iom the
Village of Hoosick Falls Public Water System. The resultsare shownbelow. All but one samplewereabove
the US
EPA
provisional
healthadvisoryof 400
ppt (see
he below
question
br information
on
what an
exceedance
eans).
Sampling onducted y the Villageof HoosickFalls ound similar eve lsof
PFOA.
8/19/2019 Nys Doh Pfoa Fact Sheet 1215
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-YlsH*
€tt
NYS DOH
Village of HoosickFalls Public
Water Supply Sampling Results
Location
PFOA level
(ppt)
Supply Well #3 Raw Water
l 5 l
Supply Well #7 Raw
Water
620
Water TreatmentPlant Finished
Water
662
Tap Water from Building on Village Water System
612
Tap Water from Building
on Village Water System
620
PreviousNYS DOH
samplingof eight
private
wells
showed
PFOA
in threewells and no detectable FOA in
the others. In
private
wells where PFOA
was detected,he evels anged rom
58
ppt
to
194
ppt,
and were
below
the US
EPA
provisional
health
guidance
alue
of
400
ppt.
Samplingof additional
private
wells was
completed n November 2075
and he
results
are expectedater
his
year.
What doesan exceedance
f the
health
advisory mean?
An exceedance
f a
health
advisory ndicatesa
potential
hreat o
public
healthand s used
as a signal o ini tiate
actions
o
reduce
exposure o the contaminant nd o identify
the sources f contamination.An
exceedance lso
indicates
he
need
or a further evaluation
of the
potential
br health
effects.
A health
advisory
s not
a
bright
line betweendrinking water
evels hat causehealth
eff-ects nd hose hat do
not.
It is set at a water evel at which
estimated xposures remuch ower
than exposures nown
to cause
effects n animals
or assumedo causeeffbcts n humans. This
difference s called
a
margin-of-protection.
Health-protective ssumptions
re used o determine
he
margin-of-protection
ecause
we
do not have
good
information
on important actors
hat are necessaryo
characterize uman isk from the results
of animal
studies. An exceedance f a healthadvisory aisesconcerns ot because ealtheffectsare ikely or will occur,
but because
he associated xposure educes
he margin-of-protection
rovided
by the health
advisory.
Are health
effectsexpected
iven
he PFOA levels ound in
the HoosickFatls Public
Water System?
No. Based
on our evaluation
singdatacollected
y NYS DOH in
the summer f 2015,we
do
not
expect
health
effects o occur rom normal
useof the water f
PFOA levels n
the
past
were similar
to thoseseen n
2015,
and
uture
PFOA levels
decrease r remain
he same.
Our evaluationcompared
he PFOA exposures
esulting rom
normaluseof the water
o PFOA exposures
estimated o causehealtheffects n humans. We estimatedusingmathematicalmodels) he humanPFOA
exposure or health
effectsby using
data
rom
animal studies
ecausehere s
someunceftainty
due
o
lack
of
adequate uman
studies)on what
PFOA levels
actuallycause uman
healtheffects.
Our evaluation ndicated
that the
estimated rinking-water
exposures
o
PFOA
are ower
than he estimated
xposures ssociated ith
health
effects n both
children and adults. Although
the margins-of-protection
re
not
as argeas hose
provided
by the healthadvisory,
he margins-sf--protection
re still large
enough
o
indicate
hat health
effectsare
unlikely from short-term
weeks
o months)
or long-term
years)
exposure
o
PFOA
at the levels
detectedn
the
Departmen
of Health
8/19/2019 Nys Doh Pfoa Fact Sheet 1215
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Departmen
of Health
water system.
One
imitation
of our
analysis s that t is
basedonly on sampling
data
or
the summerof 2015,
thus,
we
are unable o evaluate
he risk of
past
exposureso PFOA.
What measures
an be taken
to
reduce
exposure
o PFOA?
If
tap or well water s found
to containPFOA,
people
may
consideruseof
bottled
water
or drinking and ood
preparationor the nstallationof water ilters to reduceexposure.Carbon iltration and reverseosmosisare wo
technologies hat can remove
ow levels
of organiccontaminants,
uchas PFOA, from water.
While thereare
currently no
commerciallyavailable
point-of'-usePOU)
filters
(filters
attachedo
a tap) or whole house ilters
specificallycertified
by the National
SanitationFoundation
NSF)
o removePFOA, it
is expected hat
any
activated
carbonor reverseosmosis
systemwill have
he capabilityof reducingPFOA
levels. The Minnesota
Department
of Health
estedseveralPOU water
reatment evices
and
ound
many o
be effective
visit
http:/iwww.health.state.mn.us/divsleVhazardous/topics/pfcs/wateranalysis.html
or
a summary). If a treatment
is
used, t is important
o
follow
the manufbcturer's
uidelines
or maintenance
nd operation.
When should I
or my children
seea health care
provider?
If
you
or
your
family have
signsor symptoms
hat
you
think
are caused y PFOA exposure,
ou
shoulddiscuss
your
concernswith
your
or
your
family's
health
care
provider.
Is
there a medical est
hat can tell me f I have
beenexposed o PFOA?
Yes. PFOA
can be measuredn
blood.
In fact,
datasuggesthat PFOA
would be found at low levels n
the
blood of almost
all
Americans.
However, he
test
or PFOA
in blood s not routinely
done.
The results
of blood
tests anbe used o determinef
a
person's
PFOA blood evel s lower
han,similar o, or higher han
blood
levels ound in the generalpopulation,or in groupswheresomepeoplemay haveunusuallyhigh PFOA blood
levels. These
groups
nclude workers n facil ities
hat useor
produce
PFOA,
and
people
who live near
substantialPFOA
sources
fbr
example,manufacturing
acilities, ire-fighting raining areas,PFC waste
disposalsites, arms where
substantial mountsof PFC-containing
ewage ludge
were
applied o soils).
However,
other usesof PFOA blood
test
esults
are
imited.
Scientists o not haveenough nformation
yet
to
identify a level
of
PFOA in
blood that
s
completelywithout health isk, or a level
hat
is
certain o cause
llness
In addition, he resultsof blood tests eflect
otal exposureo
PFOA
and cannotbe used o identify specific
sources f exposure r timing of
past
PFOA exposures.
Where can I get more information?
If
you
have any
questions
bout
he
nfbrmation n
this
fact
sheetor other
questions
bout he
2015 NYS DOH
PFOA sampling,
please
contact he appropriateNYS DOH resourceisted below.
o
Ifyou have
questions
bout
potential
ealth
effects,
lease
all
l-518-402-7800
r
1-800-458-l 58,sendan
e-mail to
btsa@health.ny.gov,r write New York StateDepartment f Health,Bureauof Toxic Substance
Assessment, orning
Tower,Room 1743,Empire
State
Plaza,Albany,NY 12237.
Cnew
YORK
/
.
STATE
\r-
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Departmen
of Health
lf
you
have
questions
bout he
public
watersupply,
lease
all
Lloyd Wilson
at 518-402-7650,endan e-
mail to bpwsp@health .ny.gov,r write New York StateDepartment f Health,Bureauof Water
Supply
Protection, orningTower,
Room 1l10,
EmpireStatePlaza,Albany,NY 12237.
If
you
have
questions
bout
private
wells,
please
all
Albert
DeMarcoat 518-402-7860, end
an e-mail to
beei@health.ny.gov, r write New York StateDepartment f Health,Bureauof EnvironmentalExposure
Investigation,
orningTower,Room 1717,EmpireStatePlaza,Albany,NY 12237.