Largest study on chemical's health effects sealed

West Virginia Judge J.D. Beane has sealed the results of a study on the possible health effects of the chemical C8, citing concern for participants’ privacy.

C8 is a chemical used in manufacturing Teflon and other non-stick products. It may be linked to liver, thyroid and immune damage, as well as cholesterol problems.

Although portions of the study will eventually be made public, the raw data will only be available to expert researchers who submit a plan to the judge that will ensure that the privacy of the study’s participants is protected. Some of the results have already been analyzed by researchers at West Virginia University. 

The results are part of the C8 Health Project, which studies the chemical’s affects on mid-Ohio Valley residents who have drank water containing C8. The study included 70,000 participants, and is the largest study to ever be conducted on the effects of C8.