ATLANTA, GA - Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) released the report for the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure assessment conducted near the Shepherd Field Air National Guard Base in Martinsburg, Berkeley County, West Virginia.

The report summarizes levels of PFAS in blood and urine from a group of residents living in and around the City of Martinsburg in Berkeley County, WV and compares them to national PFAS levels. PFAS levels are shown by age, race/ethnicity, sex, number of years living in the community, drinking water consumption patterns, and other exposure parameters. The report also presents results from household dust and tap water samples and explores relationships between blood results and the environmental sampling data.

The exposure assessment found that the level of one PFAS, perfluorohexane sulfonic acid or PFHxS, in the blood of participants was higher than national levels, while the other PFAS tested were similar to national averages or not detected enough to calculate averages. The elevated level of PFHxS in blood may be linked with past contamination of the city’s drinking water. Tap water samples collected during the 2019 exposure assessment met the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2016 Health Advisory (HA) for PFAS. ATSDR does not recommend community members use alternative sources of water.

The report for Berkeley County, WV is available online at: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/activities/assessments/sites/berkeley-county-wv.html.

CDC and ATSDR invite residents living in and around the City of Martinsburg to attend a virtual information session to learn more about the results of the PFAS exposure assessment. Experts also will answer community questions.

When:
February 3, 2022
Time:
6:00-7:30 PM ET
To register, go to: https://bit.ly/MartinsburgEAMtg

ATSDR staff will additionally host small online meetings to answer additional community questions. Those interested in participating are encouraged to sign up here: https://bit.ly/MartinsburgEASmallMtg.

Background:
The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorized CDC and ATSDR to look at PFAS exposure in communities near current or former military bases that were known to have had PFAS in their drinking water. The Shepherd Field Air National Guard Base in Martinsburg, Berkeley County, WV used aqueous film forming foam containing PFAS for its firefighting training. These compounds later moved off-site in groundwater, likely affecting both municipal and private drinking water wells located downgradient of the base.

The area near the Shepherd Air National Guard Base in the City of Martinsburg, Berkeley County, WV is one of several communities that took part in the exposure assessments to examine human exposure to PFAS.

For ongoing updates about CDC’s and ATSDR’s PFAS exposure assessments, visit https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/PFAS-Exposure-Assessments.html

For information about PFAS, visit https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/index.html, call 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636), or email www.cdc.gov/info.

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ATSDR, a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, evaluates the potential for adverse human health effects of exposure to hazardous substances in the environment.