Bucks, MontCo Residents Can Enroll In PFAS Research Study

WARMINSTER, PA — Researchers re seeking up to 1,000 adults and 300 children for a new study on the relationship between cancer and PFAS, a type of chemical that was found to be present in local drinking water during 2005 to 2017.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), which is a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is conducting the research to find if the manmade chemicals are directly related to a series of health issues for those who were exposed to it on a long-term basis. The main result they aim to find is if the chemicals cause cancer.

"ATSDR is funding researchers from seven different sites across the United States to see how PFAS impacts health," the organization said on their website.

Researchers are looking for people who lived near military bases near the Horsham, Warminster and Warrington areas of Bucks County. Other areas nearby are also being studied, and residents from that area might be able to apply to take part in the study.

Public drinking water from these areas had levels of PFAS that were well over the EPA-set limit, which could cause severe health problems to those consuming the water. High blood pressure and developmental issues in children have also been contributed to long-term exposure to the chemicals, according to researchers.

PFOA and PFOS, two types of PFAS, were used in chemicals at local military bases for decades in and around the Bucks County region, and many believe the chemicals leaked into local water supplies as a result of their frequent use in firefighting foams.

This research will be part of an ongoing study that began with research from Temple University, who received $1.6 million in funding for the research in July. Brown University and the Department of Health are also aiding in the study.