MERRIMACK – U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, along with Reps. Annie Kuster and Carol Shea-Porter, all D-N.H., want answers about how chemicals identified near the Saint Gobain Performance Plastics facility at Merrimack may contribute to pediatric cancer.

The materials are known as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The are generally associated with the production of plastics, foams, and waxes.

Last week, the lawmakers sent a letter to National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Director Linda Birnbaum regarding the potential connection between PFAS and pediatric cancer.

The legislators’ concerns stem from information that New Hampshire had the highest rate of pediatric cancer of all 50 states from 2003-14 at 205 cases per 1 million children.

“We request that NIEHS ensure that studies investigating the negative associations between pediatric PFAS exposure and immune function include a focus on the chemicals’ connection with pediatric cancer. We also urge you to explore whether variations in pediatric cancers found in New Hampshire are tied to PFAS… ,” the letter states.

Last month, Birnbaum testified before a Senate committee concerning the federal role in the PFAS chemical crisis, providing information on the research the agency is doing, while providing some details on pediatric cancer.

However, the New Hampshire delegation seeks specific research on the Granite State.

“New Hampshire parents are extremely concerned about what exposure to PFAS chemicals means for the health and safety of their children. As this administration moves forward with the nationwide health study on PFAS, we urge NIEHS to work with relevant environmental and health agencies to determine whether environmental contamination from this family of chemicals is a contributing factor to the incidences of pediatric cancer found in New Hampshire and across the nation,” Shaheen, Hassan, Kuster and Shea-Porter wrote.

Christine Bruske Flowers, the communications director for the NIEHS, said, “Dr. Birnbaum received the letter and will be preparing a response in the next few weeks.”

On Aug. 23, the delegation sent a letter to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), asking it to expand existing health assessment work in Merrimack and surrounding towns regarding PFAS contamination and to consider forming a community action panel for the Merrimack community.

A spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which oversees the ATSDR, said the agency is working on a response to the delegation’s letter.

Regarding this, Hassan spokesman Aaron Jacobs said, “No response has been received yet.”

The letter to the NIEHS can be viewed here:

https://www.shaheen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/10-19-18_Letter%20to%20NIEHS%20on%20PFAS-Pediatric%20Cancer.pdf.

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