PFAS Health Effects: National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Recommendations for At-Risk Populations
2:00 pm US Eastern Time
Slides & Resources
PFAS in drinking water and serum of the people of a southeast Alaska community: A pilot study (Environmental Pollution, 2022)
Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Your Health, ATSDR (2022)
Environmental Health Protection Agency (EPA) (2022). Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFOA and PFOS.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2022. Guidance on PFAS Exposure, Testing, and Clinical Follow-Up. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Anderko, L. & Pennea, E. (2020). Exposures to Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Potential Risks to Reproductive and Children’s Health, Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 100760
Anderko, L., Pennea, E., & Chalupka, S. (2020). Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: An Emerging Contaminant of Concern. Annual Review of Nursing Research, 38(1), 159-182.
Related webinars
Threats to Drinking Water and Public Health in Alaska: The Scope of the PFAS Problem, Consequences of Regulatory Inaction, and Recommendations (CHE Alaska, 2019)
PFAS Science & Policy Series (2020-2022)
You can view the videorecording of this webinar here.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are chemicals that are widely used in consumer products, industrial firefighting foams used on military bases and airports, and can be found in drinking water throughout Alaska and the US. In Alaska, the dispersive use of PFAS-based firefighting foams have contaminated the drinking water of communities from the North Slope to southeast Alaska.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) special committee recently examined the health outcomes associated with the most widely studied PFAS and made recommendations on who, when, how, and what to test, as well as the risks of testing.
This webinar featured one of the report co-authors, Dr. Laura Anderko, who provided information on the principles used for framing clinician decision making when there is uncertainty in outcomes in the scientific literature, what potential health effects may be associated with exposure, recommendations for testing and clinical follow-up, and special considerations when engaging environmental justice communities. We also discussed how this information is relevant to Alaska and policy changes that are needed to protect public health.
Featured Speaker
Laura Anderko PhD RN is Co-Director of the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children’s Health and the Environment, the federally funded Region 3 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) at Villanova University College of Nursing.
She has been a public health nurse for over 40 years, and is an educator and scholar focusing on environmental health for over 25 years. She served on a number of federal advisory committees, was a co-author of the recent NASEM report establishing guidance of PFAS testing and health.
This call was hosted by the CHE-Alaska Partnership, which is coordinated by Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT).
