High PFOA Levels in Hoosick Falls Blood Tests Show Need to Test Newburgh Residents

Riverkeeper, New York’s clean water advocate, has issued a statement regarding the extremely high levels of Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) found in the blood of Hoosick Falls, NY residents who drank from the tainted municipal water supply.

The residents of Hoosick Falls have, on average, tested to have more than 30 times the national level of PFOA in their blood, according to New York State Department of Health data recently obtained by the Politico NY news service.

Meanwhile in the City of Newburgh, NY, 120 miles south of Hoosick Falls, residents have yet to be tested for a similar chemical, Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), although its city manager, Michael Ciaravino had written to the Department of Health requesting blood tests. The drinking supply for the city's residents had been tainted with PFOS.

Both chemicals have been linked to a number of serious health problems, including cancer, thyroid problems and high cholesterol.

“Riverkeeper, the City of Newburgh and many others have called for blood tests of Newburgh residents, and the Hoosick data shows what many have feared about these toxics — too many folks have high exposure levels,” said Dan Shapley, Riverkeeper’s Water Quality Program Manager. “In Newburgh, the high levels of PFOS found in the drinking water reservoir for almost 30,000 people, now requires the state to begin testing these residents, too.”

“The science has spoken in Hoosick Falls,” said John Parker, Riverkeeper’s Director of Legal Programs. “We now need to get results about the extent of the exposure for Newburgh, and move forward with strategies both to remediate the site that is the source of these chemicals, and to protect the city's drinking water supply from future threats.”