Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension “Probably Linked” to PFOA Contamination

Pregnancy-induced Hypertension " Probably linked " to PFOa Contamination Working as part of a class-action legal settlement with DuPont, a science panel appointed by the Wood County Circuit Court recently announced the first " probable link " between perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) released into the environment from a DuPont manufacturing plant and disease in neighboring com-munities—specifically, pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). The panel was ordered to return a " probable link " finding if occurrence of a disease in members of the settlement class was judged " more likely than not " to be increased by the members' PFOA exposure. With this first " probable link " designation, the next stage of the settlement kicks in, whereby DuPont must pay up to $235 million to monitor class members for any diseases for which a probable link is determined. 2 PFOA can be released into the environment during the manufacture of products such as Teflon™ nonstick coating. The chemical is present in an estimated 98% of Americans, with average blood serum levels of 5.2 ng/mL reported in the 1999−2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. 3 For people living in the 6 affected Ohio and West Virginia public water districts surrounding DuPont's Washington Works plant, serum PFOA levels averaged 32.91 ng/ mL. 4 PFOA had leached into groundwater and contaminated the Ohio River, tainting drinking water supplies.