Scientists Link Chemical To Birth Defects

From the Charlestown Gazette:

"A three-person science committee has found evidence that could connect the toxic chemical C8 to human birth defects and high blood pressure in pregnant women, according to the latest reports made public Thursday.

Babies whose mothers had high levels of C8 in their blood were 70 percent more likely to have birth defects, according to the study by the C8 Science Panel.

Woman with greater than average levels of C8 in their blood were 30 percent more likely to have preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, according to the panel's analysis.

Members of the three-scientist panel downplayed both findings, calling them "weak relationships," but also saying the results support the need for continuing to study C8's health impacts.

"The numbers are what they are, and then there's the question of what to make of them," said David Savitz, a Science Panel member from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "There are a lot of reasons to be cautious about drawing those kinds of conclusions."

But so far, in three rounds of reports released since last October, the Science Panel has each time found some evidence of adverse health effects: High cholesterol, increased uric acid that can cause hypertension, reduced immune system functions, and now, birth defects and preeclampsia.

The three-scientist panel is conducting one of two C8 reviews as part of a $107.6 million settlement of a lawsuit filed by residents who alleged DuPont's Washington Works plant poisoned their water with C8.

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