EPA to do blood tests for PFCs in Alabama area

Birmingham, Ala.-The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided to test the blood of up to 200 residents in Morgan, Lawrence, and Limestone Counties, where biosolids were found containing perfluorinated compounds that can cause serious health problems, including cancer. The blood tests are part of the EPA investigation triggered by concerns about PFCs found in agriculture fields where biosolids were spread as fertilizer, which was received free of charge from Decatur Utilities. The chemicals were also found in two private wells. The well owners were provided with bottled water while they were being hooked up to the public water system. Meanwhile, distribution of the biosolids has been halted to area farmers after EPA singled out the sources of perfluorinated compounds detected last November in samples from the utility’s Dry Creek Plant. Gail Mitchell, deputy director of the water protection division at EPA’s Region 4, said blood testing “is not something we typically do,” but is not unheard of. She said the testing was requested by residents at a meeting in June, and that a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed to handle it. Residents who have potential contact with PFCs in soil or water are eligible to be tested free of charge starting in the spring, with results expected in late summer. The sampling and testing is spread over the three counties in north central Alabama, involving 5,000 acres and approximately 40 farms with various parcels that received the biosolids. At the same time, Decatur Utilities continues to produce biosolids as part of its wastewater treatment plant operations, Mitchell reported, but sends it all to a local landfill for disposal.