31°
The pollution came from a plastics plant near Paulsboro. Solvay Solexis and Arkema of West Deptford settled a class-action lawsuit to clean up the drinking water believed contaminated back to 1980.
PFAS — which are "forever" chemicals — are man-made chemicals that have been used in industry and manufacturing of consumer products since the 1950s, Rutgers says.
Paulsboro, a town of 6,000 on the Delaware River, recorded the highest rate of one type of PFAS chemical, a perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) before a contaminated well was shuttered in 2014.
Health impacts of PFNA are less known, however, some studies have shown that PFAS may:
- Adversely affect growth, learning, and behavior of infants and children
- Lower a woman’s chance of getting pregnant
- Interfere with the body’s natural hormones
- Increase cholesterol levels
- Affect the immune system
- Increase the risks for some cancers
Nearly a dozen regions nationwide will be studied in an effort led by the Centers for Disease Control. A different study will measure the effect of water on humans in 11 townships in Bucks and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania, primarily near military bases.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Bergenfield and receive free news updates.
