The C8 Health Project was conducted between August 2005 – August 2006 by Brookmar Inc., as a result of the settlement agreement reached in the case of Leach v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., No. 01-C-608 (W. Va., Wood County Cir. Ct. filed Feb. 24, 2005).   This settlement also established a scientific panel (“Science Panel”) who analyzed the C8 Health Project data and conducted further studies with C8 Health Project participants.

An amended order to this settlement (W. Va., Wood County Cir. Ct. filed Sept. 4th, 2013) designated the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center as the third party mechanism for overseeing, implementing, managing, administering and sharing the C8 Health Project and Science Panel datasets.

Settlement Details

In February 2005, presiding Wood Circuit Judge George W. Hill Jr., approved a settlement in the class action suit Jack Leach et al v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.  Terms of the settlement include provisions that DuPont™ provide equipment to remove C8 from the human drinking water supply in the affected water districts, pay for legal fees, and provide economic support for an independent study of the health effects of C8 as well as payments for health and education projects for the benefit of the Class and, funding of a community health study, known as the “C8 Health Project”, to document the health effects of C8 on residents in the affected water districts.  This settlement also established a scientific panel (“Science Panel”) who analyzed the C8 Health Project data and conducted further studies with C8 Health Project participants.
 
This settlement was amended (filed September 4th, 2013, Circuit Court of Wood County, West Virginia) to establish a third party mechanism for data sharing. This amendment designated the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center at West Virginia University as the “third party mechanism” for preserving, overseeing, implementing, managing, and administering all aspects of data sharing related to all data generated from the C8 Health Project and/or the Science Panel studies.  As the designated third party mechanism, WVU is charged with: 1) securely storing and preserving all data; 2) creating a mechanism whereby individuals that contributed data to the C8 Health Project and/or Science Panel studies can receive a copy of their information; and, 3) creating a process wherein members of the scientific and academic communities may use these data for reasons that will benefit science, medicine, human health, the Class, or society in general.

Pursuant to this amended order, the Office of Research and Graduate Education has established a mechanism to allow individual members of the Class to receive a report of their own information.  Processes for researchers interested in using these data are also being established.  Please check back for more information and new developments.  

Information provided on this site is not intended to address questions about causal links between health status and exposure to C8 or other perfluorochemicals at the population level, nor is it intended to answer questions individuals may have about whether exposure to C8 or a related perfluorochemical caused their specific disease.