By Alex Brooks
The Hoosick Falls Central School hosted a visit from U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand which was billed as a listening session. A series of Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh residents told stories of the impact on their lives of learning that the water they had been drinking for years is contaminated with PFOA and that they have elevated levels of PFOA in their blood. Gillibrand was visibly moved by the stories being told. She said, “The most important thing I can do today is listen to these devastating stories,” and vowed to impress on her colleagues in Washington and in Albany the gravity of the situation in Rensselaer County.
[private]
Rob Allen, an art teacher at the Hoosick Falls Central School, and his wife Heather Allen both spoke of their shock at learning of the high levels of PFOA in the blood of their 2 year old child. Heather Allen spoke of the high priority she has put on providing a healthy environment and healthy food for her kids, and what a crushing blow it was to her to learn that contaminated water has so powerfully compromised her efforts.
Rob Allen said he believes the average blood level announced by the NYS Dept. of Health when they released their figures, of 27 parts per billion, was skewed low because it was averaged in with a lot of non-detects from people outside the Village. He said he suspects the average among Village residents is closer to 80 or 100 parts per billion. He said he knows lots of people with 200 to 300 parts per billion, and some as high as 800 ppb.
Emily Marpe spoke tearfully of the Saturday morning when County Health Director Rich Elder called her to say that her well had been found to have 2100 ppt of PFOA in it, and of the day the letters arrived with her family’s levels of PFOA in their blood, and of her deep shock and outrage that her ten year old daughter Gwyn has 207 parts per billion of PFOA in her blood. Her daughter Gwyn Young was sitting next to her, and Gwyn spoke also. She said it was very tough to see her mother so upset and that having something this bad happen to her family was “very scary and depressing.”
Hoosick Falls mom Heather Clifford said she is carrying guilt because she wasn’t able to protect her children from the threat of PFOA. She also spoke of the enormous anxiety that comes with uncertainty about what the health effects of PFOA are likely to be. “What does it mean when your 17 year old son opens an envelope and learns that he has 87 parts per billion of PFOA in his blood?” she asked.
Dr. Sue Fenton from the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) responded to that by saying, “We have been studying the health effects of PFOA for such a short time, we don’t know very well what the health effects will be.” She said two people with the same exposure are likely to have different health outcomes, because there are many factors that play into it. She recommended regular medical testing to those with significant exposures to PFOA, with special attention to kidney levels and thyroid issues.
Gillibrand said she thinks a medical monitoring program must be set up for those with elevated PFOA levels in their blood in Petersburgh and Hoosick Falls. She cited the medical monitoring that has been set up for the 911 first responders as a model. She said this not only solves the problem of whether those affected have insurance that covers the testing, but it also brings together a group of doctors who develop expertise in diagnosing and treating the particular illnesses that may come from PFOA exposure. They develop a specialty in those health effects and become better than a regular GP at recognizing health effects stemming from PFOA exposure.
Dr. Patrick Breysse from the CDC was also there, and he spoke about ongoing research in his agency into the toxicity of PFOA aimed at delineating more precisely the health risks from exposure to it.
Gillibrand said she would push for more research on health effects of PFOA and more regulation of PFOA at the federal level. She said she believes this is “truly a national problem” and it requires a robust response from the Federal government. Many were hopeful that Gillbrand may prove to be an effective advocate for the people whose health has been compromised by PFOA contamination, and shared the sentiments of recently graduated HFCS senior Anna Wysocki when she said, “Thank you Senator Gillibrand for listening to us and giving us a voice.”
[/private]