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 (EA) conducted in Moose Creek, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, near Eielson Air Force Base.
The report summarizes levels of PFAS in blood and urine from a group of residents living in and around Moose Creek near Eielson Air Force Base 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 two PFAS, perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), in the blood of participants was higher than national levels. Averages of other PFAS measured in blood were not higher than national levels or were detected too infrequently to compare to national levels. The elevated level of PFHxS and PFOS in blood may be linked with past drinking water contamination due to long biological half-lives. All Moose Creek drinking water samples collected during the EA in 2020 met the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Health Advisory (HA) and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (AK DEC) Action Levels for specific PFAS in drinking water. Based on the PFAS drinking water test results from private wells tested by the Air Force in Moose Creek, ATSDR recommends that residents continue to use the alternative sources of water provided by the Air Force at this time.
The final PFAS exposure assessment report for Fairbanks, AK, is available here: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/activities/assessments/sites/fairbanks-north-star-borough-ak.html.
CDC and ATSDR invite residents living in and around Moose Creek, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska near Eielson Air Force Base to attend a virtual information session to learn more about the results of the PFAS exposure assessment. Experts will also answer community questions.
When:
June 7, 2022
Time:
6:00 p.m. -7:30 p.m. Alaska Time
To register, go to:
https://bit.ly/MooseCreekEAMtg
ATSDR staff will also host small meetings, in-person and virtual, to answer additional community questions. In-person meetings will be held at the Moose Creek Fire Station 5, located at 3483 Old Richardson Highway in North Pole, AK, on June 8 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and June 9 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Virtual sessions with ATSDR staff will also take place on June 14 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Those interested in participating are encouraged to sign up here: https://bit.ly/MooseCreekEASmallMtg
Background:
The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act 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 Eielson Air Force Base used aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) 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 Eielson Air Force Base is one of several communities that took part in the exposure assessments to examine human exposure to PFAS. The primary goal of these exposure assessments is to provide information to communities about levels of PFAS in their bodies.
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 visit 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.