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DuPont Pays Heavy Price For Teflon Cover-Up / What Is Perfluorooctanoic acid?

as $313 Million

Neither DuPont nor the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have disclosed the terms of the deal. The agency could have fined the company as much as $313 million.

Concealed for 20 Years

The EPA has alleged that DuPont covered up important information about health effects and water supply pollution for 20 years. Environmental groups have asked federal officials to impose substantial fines on DuPont for failing to tell the government that PFOA can pass from a mother's blood to her fetus. The chemical has been linked to both cancer and birth defects in animal studies.

DuPont Argues No Harm

DuPont has maintained that PFOA has no negative health effects. Earlier this year, DuPont settled a class-action lawsuit over the issue for $107.6 million.

In addition to the civil suit DuPont has just settled, there is an ongoing criminal investigation of its actions regarding PFOA pollution.

San Francisco Chronicle November 29, 2005

Washington Post November 30, 2005

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Dr. Mercola's Comment:

We do not know what the final settlement was. But the maximum the EPA could have fined them -- a number beyond the reach of all but a few of the wealthy people in the world, over $300 million -- is all pocket change to a large multi-national corporation like DuPont.

Meanwhile, DuPont has been concealing test results for almost a quarter century, all time during which actions or precautions could have been taken.

You will need to take the situation into your own hands. The first step is to toss out every pan in your house that has Teflon on it. The moment you heat the pan it starts to vaporize and this toxic chemical will go into your bloodstream.

I know it is hard to believe, but it is true. It took me a few years to become convinced, but once you are aware of this truth you simply have no logical choice but to throw those pans out and never buy another one.

Do not leave them in your home or you will be tempted to use them. Please believe me; I am absolutely convinced they are very dangerous and you should not be exchanging the convenience for the health damage.

Just a reminder, Teflon coats not only non-stick cookware, but also the paper plates you use to eat meals and paper bags of microwave popcorn you thought were safe to eat for a snack.

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Perfluorooctanoic acid

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfluorooctanoic_acid

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8, is an artificial acid that has many industrial uses. PFOA can designate the acid itself or its principal salts (like ammonium perfluorooctanoate).

Uses

PFOA is the most common building block of the perfluorocarbon (PFC) family of chemicals, widely used for their durability and stability as well as resistance to water, oil, and other solvents. One of the most widely known compounds made using PFOA is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), sold under the brand name Teflon.

Another application of PFOA is in the fabrication of water- and stain-resistant clothes and other materials, including the products Scotchgard, StainMaster, and Gore-Tex. (Scotchgard was reformulated in 2002 to remove PFOA from the manufacturing process.) PFOA is also used to make aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), a component of fire-fighting foams.

Health concerns

The durability of PFOA prevents it from breaking down once in the environment, leading to widespread buildup and bioaccumulation in food chains. Traces of PFOA-family chemicals can now be found in the blood of nearly all Americans and in the environment worldwide. Scientists do not yet know how the chemicals are transported or exactly how dangerous they are to humans, though concerns about these issues caused its major manufacturer, 3M, to announce in May 2000 that it would cease manufacturing the chemical. DuPont, one of the largest users of PFOA, then built its own plant in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to manufacture PFOA.

DuPont has used PFOA for over 50 years at its Washington Works plant near Belpre, Ohio. Area residents sued DuPont in 2001, claiming the chemical contaminated area drinking water. As part of the settlement, DuPont is paying for blood tests and health surveys of residents believed to be affected. Up to 60,000 people are expected to take part in the study, which will be reviewed by epidemiologists to determine if there are any long-term health effects.

In 2004, DuPont came under investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for allegedly covering up knowledge of possible health effects of PFOA exposure in a study of pregnant employees, including evidence of PFOA in umbilical cord blood.

The EPA pursued charges against DuPont for reporting violations filed under the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. On December 13, 2005 DuPont announced a settlement with the EPA in which DuPont will pay $10.25 million in fines and an additional $6.25 million for two supplemental environmental projects without any admission of liability.

Some public watchdog groups are raising the alarm about PFOA. The Environmmental Working Group says, in an online report titled "PFCs: A Family of Chemicals that Contaminate the Planet", that "PFCs seem destined to supplant DDT, PCBs, dioxin, and other chemicals as the most notorious, global chemical contaminants ever produced."

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