Past Water Problems in Paulsboro Under New Scrutiny

PAULSBORO, NJ — Researchers affiliated with Rutgers University's Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute are looking for current and past residents of the Gloucester County borough to participate in a study to find out how the municipality's contaminated drinking water supply impacted the health of its residents.

"This is a pretty big study for a community the size of Paulsboro," Kerry Butch, a program specialist at the institute, said on an episode of "Eye on Paulsboro" that was uploaded to the institute's website. "We're going to try to have 1,000 adults and 300 children to participate."

Study participation is limited to most individuals aged 18 years and older who lived in Paulsboro at any time from January 2005 to April 2014. Children aged 6 to 17 years who lived in Paulsboro from conception to April 2014 may also participate so long as he or she has their parent or guardian's permission the institute's website said.

The study, which has the support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stems from tests conducted in 2009 and 2013 that showed Paulsboro's public water supply contained high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), specifically perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), according to Robert Laumbach, MD, an associate professor at the Rutgers University School of Public Health and study investigator and the institute's website.

Although the water in Paulsboro is now filtered, PFAS and PFNA "stay in the body for years, perhaps even decades," Laumbach said during the "Eye on Paulsboro" episode. "They are called forever chemicals because they don't really leave the body quickly and in the environment they don't break down." While everyone alive today has some level of PFAS and PFNA in their blood, Paulsboro's past water problems made it an ideal area to conduct the study, he added.

Limited evidence suggests PFAS and PFNA may cause health problems in some individuals, and the study in Paulsboro should expand the knowledge base surrounding the substances, Lambach continued. Study participants will be asked to provide blood and urine samples and answer a series of medical questions. The participants' specimens will be scientifically analyzed — at no charge to the participant — to determine PFAS and PFNA levels in their system and check for possible health problems, including liver, thyroid, and kidney functions. The participants will receive their test results in the mail, Laumbach said. The participants will also receive gift cards worth up to $75 for their time, according to the institute website.

"The idea is to test the function of many different organs in the body that we think might be affected by PFAS," Laumbach said in the video. "I don't want to alarm people that PFAS definitely causes terrible health effects. ...But we just don't know. And that's the point here."

Anyone who meets the study criteria and is interesting in participating in the study is encouraged to email paulsboro-health-study@eohsi.rutgers.edu or call 856-599-1205.