Scientists to share initial findings from the Massachusetts PFAS &
Your Health Study — Hyannis Residents

Barnstable Town Hall     Monday, June 3        12–1:30pm and 5–6:30pm

Both presentations will be followed by a Q&A session with the public. Light refreshments will be served.

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The Massachusetts PFAS & Your Health Study team will share with the community preliminary findings from their investigation into people’s past exposures to PFAS contaminants in the drinking water in Hyannis and the potential impacts on their health.

 

Nearly 800 adults and children across Hyannis and Ayer signed up to participate, providing blood samples, completing clinical exams, and answering questionnaires. “It was a team effort, and we are enormously grateful to the community not only for being so generous with their time, but also for contributing to science that is advancing public health and improving drinking water protections,” says Dr. Laurel Schaider, the study’s principal investigator and a senior scientist at Silent Spring Institute.

 

Launched in 2020, the Massachusetts PFAS & Your Health Study is one of seven projects funded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) as part of a national effort to investigate communities across the country—including Hyannis—that have been impacted by PFAS contaminants in drinking water.

 

Before 2016, levels of PFAS in the Hyannis water system were higher than in any other public water supply in Massachusetts. Although the water in Hyannis is now being treated to remove PFAS, scientists are concerned about possible long-term health effects from exposures that happened in the past.

 

Dr. Schaider will provide an overview of the study, a summary of PFAS blood test results for Hyannis, guidance for participants on how to interpret their results, and resources to help residents reduce their exposures to PFAS and protect their health.

 

Program and Speakers

 

Welcoming remarks:

• Cheryl Osimo, Community Partner, Executive Director, Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, Cape Cod Outreach Coordinator, Silent Spring Institute

• Mark Ells, Town Manager, Town of Barnstable
   

Presentation

• Dr. Laurel Schaider, Principal Investigator, Senior Scientist, Silent Spring Institute.

 

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