A MEDICAL trial in Sweden which concludes that a group of drugs used to lower cholesterol could be used to accelerate the excretion from the human body of a manmade chemical linked to cancer has now been published.
The trial, which features in the October edition of the journal Environment International, was referenced by a panel of scientists advising the Government on its response to PFAS – a group of carbon-based chemicals which have been found in high concentrations in Jersey.
The independent PFAS Scientific Advisory Panel recommended that a well-known drug used to lower cholesterol called Colesevelam, which is part of a group of drugs called bile acid sequestrants, should be offered to Islanders, who meet a certain set of criteria, as a means to lower the level of PFAS in their blood.
However, at that stage, the Swedish report was unpublished, prompting some Islanders to question the thoroughness of the recommendation.
In a letter published in today’s JEP on page 14, Paul Le Claire, chairman of campaign group Water Awareness Jersey, writes: “The government and its science panel have promoted Colesevelam as a treatment.
“But the truth is stark: the only published Colesevelam results in the world involve just four patients in Denmark. The Swedish trial that the panel relies on remains unpublished. Islanders are being asked to take a drug on blind faith, not on open evidence.”
However, the government’s Public Health Department has responded to the letter, which is also on page 14.
Providing a link to the published study – which concludes: ‘Bile acid sequestrants could be used for accelerating PFAS excretion in highly PFAS exposed individuals. Studies are needed to evaluate the risks, costs and benefits of using it for this purpose’ – the department writes: “The independent PFAS Scientific Advisory Panel recommended Colesevelam based on the best available scientific evidence at the time.
“All evidence received together with the advice and support of international experts was carefully considered in forming the recommendations. This included expert evidence which referenced the then unpublished Swedish trial. Now the trial has been published the panel will issue an addendum to that effect.”
Public Health added that the scientific panel’s next report, its fourth, will look at PFAS contamination more widely around the Island. So far, its focus has mainly been on areas leading from the Airport, where firefighting foam containing a type of the chemical was extensively used over many years.
PFAS is the collective name for a group of manmade chemicals which were added to everyday items, such as frying pans and rain jackets, due their ability to repel water, heat and oil.
However, the carbon-based group of thousands of chemicals, which do not breakdown easily, are now linked to a number of health conditions, including kidney and testicular cancer.
PFAS has been found in high levels in Jersey, not only in streams and groundwater but also in the blood of residents who live or lived close to water courses flowing from the Airport. The bioaccumulate, which means it builds up in the body, is also at trace levels in streams and reservoirs islandwide.
The government has developed a programme to tackle the problem of PFAS which is among the most extensive, certainly among small jurisdictions, worldwide.
