Rick Karlin is reporting for the Times Union the levels of PFOA in the blood of Hoosick Falls village residents who participated in recent surveys has fallen an average of 42 percent since state Health Department researchers first started tracking the toxic chemical in February 2016. “Almost everybody had their levels decline,” said Elizabeth Lewis-Michl, a health department epidemiologist said during a community meeting held October 23, at Hoosick Falls High School. But while levels of PFOA have decreased since residents started drinking bottled or filtered water, the biological and health effects of perfluorooctanoic acid on the human body are not well known. The chemical was once used by industries operating in the area and has tainted the local water supply. Researchers in Hoosick Falls and Newburgh, along with six other sites nationally, will monitor people for five years, watching for health problems believed to stem from PFOA exposure, such as signs of high cholesterol, thyroid or hormonal changes as well as neurobehavioral impacts on children. The lowered PFOA levels was the second development to come in Hoosick Falls this month. Last week, the state Department of Environmental Conservation offered a preliminary list of five potential options for the village’s long range water sources, including tapping the Tomhannock Reservoir, hooking into Troy’s city water system, developing test wells into permanent sources and bolstering the existing well system. Read the full story in the Times Union.