EPA Says DuPont Withheld Chemical's Danger
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday charged DuPont Co. -- one of the world's largest chemical companies -- with illegally withholding evidence for 20 years that a chemical used to make Teflon endangered its workers and the public.
The federal agency accused DuPont of "multiple failures" from 1981 to 2001 to report information that perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, posed "substantial risk of injury to human health or the environment," including a risk of birth defects.
DuPont denied the allegations. The company has 30 days to respond. DuPont General Counsel Stacey J. Mobley said the company would "vigorously defend our position" that no laws were broken and that the chemical was safe.
"The evidence from over 50 years of experience and extensive scientific studies supports our conclusion that PFOA does not harm human health or the environment," Mobley said.
The EPA is continuing an investigation into the risks that the Teflon ingredient may pose. The review may be finished in several months and could lead to regulations or agreements to phase out the chemical's use.
PFOA is present in the blood of nearly all the 1,500 people who have been tested in the United States, including young children.
"Whether human exposures are due to PFOA in the air, the water, on dusts or sediments, in dietary sources or through some combination of routes is currently unknown," the EPA documents said.
As a result, the "EPA does not believe there is any reason for consumers to stop using any consumer- or industrial-related product," the agency said.
Scientists use of Teflon products probably does not contaminate people's bodies with PFOA. The chemical is removed from finished products during the manufacturing process.
But the chemical is released into the water or air during manufacturing and might be formed by the breakdown of other compounds pioneered by DuPont. Those compounds are used in stain-repellent coatings for carpets, fabrics and clothing and grease-resistant food packaging used by fast-food restaurants.
DuPont, the nation's second-largest chemical company, said PFOA was an essential ingredient in the making of stick-resistant Teflon, which is used in cookware, clothing, bedding and an array of other household products. The company said it had been unable to develop an alternative ingredient.
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