The C8 health project: design, methods, and participants.
BACKGROUND
The C8 Health Project was created, authorized, and funded as part of the settlement agreement reached in the case of Jack W. Leach, et al. v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (no. 01-C-608 W.Va., Wood County Circuit Court, filed 10 April 2002). The settlement stemmed from the perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, or C8) contamination of drinking water in six water districts in two states near the DuPont Washington Works facility near Parkersburg, West Virginia.


OBJECTIVE
This study reports on the methods and results from the C8 Health Project, a population study created to gather data that would allow class members to know their own PFOA levels and permit subsequent epidemiologic investigations.


METHODS
Final study participation was 69,030, enrolled over a 13-month period in 2005-2006. Extensive data were collected, including demographic data, medical diagnoses (both self-report and medical records review), clinical laboratory testing, and determination of serum concentrations of 10 perfluorocarbons (PFCs). Here we describe the processes used to collect, validate, and store these health data. We also describe survey participants and their serum PFC levels.


RESULTS
The population geometric mean for serum PFOA was 32.91 ng/mL, 500% higher than previously reported for a representative American population. Serum concentrations for perfluorohexane sulfonate and perfluorononanoic acid were elevated 39% and 73% respectively, whereas perfluorooctanesulfonate was present at levels similar to those in the U.S. population.


CONCLUSIONS
This largest known population study of community PFC exposure permits new evaluations of associations between PFOA, in particular, and a range of health parameters. These will contribute to understanding of the biology of PFC exposure. The C8 Health Project also represents an unprecedented effort to gather basic data on an exposed population; its achievements and limitations can inform future legal settlements for populations exposed to environmental contaminants.
Frisbee
Stephanie J
SJ
Department of Community Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506-9105, USA. sfrisbee@hsc.wvu.edu
Brooks
A Paul
AP
Maher
Arthur
A
Flensborg
Patsy
P
Arnold
Susan
S
Fletcher
Tony
T
Steenland
Kyle
K
Shankar
Anoop
A
Knox
Sarah S
SS
Pollard
Cecil
C
Halverson
Joel A
JA
Vieira
Verónica M
VM
Jin
Chuanfang
C
Leyden
Kevin M
KM
Ducatman
Alan M
AM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002210:Caprylates / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012107:Research Design; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000097:blood*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis*
D002210:Caprylates; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C023036:perfluorooctanoic acid