"EPA's C8 Advisory Flawed, Researchers Conclude"

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A last-minute health advisory issued by the Bush administration for water contaminated with the toxic chemical C8 may not be nearly stringent enough, according to a new scientific paper.

Researchers from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Rutgers University concluded that the federal government's health advisory did not consider some adverse health effects that could occur at very low exposure levels.

The study, published Friday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, also backed up previous criticism that the federal government's advisory does not take into account possible long-term exposure from drinking C8-contaminated water.

Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which issued the C8 advisory in mid-January, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new scientific findings."

Ken Ward Jr. reports for the Charleston Gazette May 11, 2009.