This study aims to better understand how exposure to drinking water contaminated with PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) may impact health in 11 Pennsylvania communities located within Bucks and Montgomery counties. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is studying the human health effects of exposure t
o drinking water contaminated with PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances). One of these sites includes 11 Pennsylvania communities located within Bucks and Montgomery counties whose drinking water was contaminated by firefighting foam used by the local military bases. Researchers from RTI International, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Temple University, and Brown University received funding from ATSDR to better understand how PFAS may impact health in these communities. This team plans to enroll 1,000 adults and 300 children to evaluate the relationship between PFAS levels in their bodies and certain health outcomes like high cholesterol and thyroid, liver, and kidney disease.
