A class action lawsuit brought by the communities against DuPont resulted in a Settlement Agreement in the Wood County Circuit Court; As part of that settlement, Brookmar; Inc., an independent company, conducted a yearlong survey (August 2005 - July 2006) called the C8 Health Project. The C8 Health Project gathered information through interviews and questionnaires and collected blood samples from about 69,000 people living near the Washington Works plant in West Virginia.

The settlement also established that a group of public health scientists would assess whether or not there is a probable link between C8 exposure and disease in the community. The Science Panel was chosen jointly by the lawyers for the community and DuPont. The panel is made up of: Dr. Tony Fletcher of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Dr. David Savitz of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, and Dr. Kyle Steenland of Emory University in Atlanta. The Science Panel was chosen because of their experience in designing and carrying out environmental health studies and that they would be able to objectively generate and evaluate the evidence.

On September 26 and September 27, 2011, the Science Panel conducted public forums to answer questions on what they've done, where they are now, and what is left to do before they deliver their final conclusions. The Science Panel members, Dr. Tony Fletcher, Dr. Kyle Steenland, and Dr. David Savitz presented an update on their progress and answered questions from the attendees. Click the <play> icon in the media players below to view the forums in their entirety.

September 26, 2011, Blennerhassett Jr. High Auditorium

September 27, 2011, Meigs Local Middle School Auditorium

__________________________________________________________________________________

Periodically, the science panel releases information in the form of a newsletter. The newsletters to-date are as follows:

C8 Science Panel Quarterly Newsletter July 2010

C8 Science Panel Quarterly Newsletter October 2010

C8 Science Panel Quarterly Newsletter January 2011

C8 Science Panel Quarterly Newsletter May 2011

C8 Science Panel Quarterly Newsletter August 2011

You may also click here to subscribe to the Science Panel newsletters.