The New York State Department of Health and the University at Albany School of Public Health announced that residents in the Hoosick Falls area (Rensselaer County) and the city of Newburgh (Orange County) are invited to take part in a national Multi-Site PFAS Health Study.
According to the NYSDOH, this is a by-invitation-only effort to recruit eligible adults and families who will be invited for a health clinic visit for blood and urine testing along with a health evaluation to measure exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
The study will collect other information including: immune response, lipid metabolism, kidney function, thyroid disease, liver disease, glycemic parameters, and diabetes. The test results are provided to test subjects at no cost to them and are kept confidential.
"New York State is collaborating with some of the best researchers in the country to collect data from participants with common exposures," said New York State Department of Health Acting Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett. "What we learn by working with these researchers could provide important clues about the complex relationship between PFAS exposures through drinking water and human health outcomes."
The two areas were specifically chosen as part of the first national study, as PFAS has been detected in public drinking water supplies and in private wells in these communities.
A Community Advisory Panel that is made up of unpaid individuals from the communities will partner in this study, according to the city. Its members will; relay community questions and concerns; aid in community outreach and participation efforts; and help advise researchers on study design, outreach and progress.
Researchers will look closely at the role PFAS may play in various health outcomes by analyzing results from: blood tests, health-related laboratory tests and assessments, medical, exposure histories and children's educational records. Some participants will be asked for permission to access newborn screening samples already on file to test them for PFAS exposure to better understand PFAS exposures over their lifetime.
The Multi-Site PFAS Health Study is funded by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
