Key Teflon Chemical: Center of Lawsuits and Debates
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CENTER OF LAWSUITS AND DEBATES
by Mary Ashby Brown*
INTRODUfCTION
p erfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is everywhere - and in
more ways than one would probably think. PFOA is an
essential processing aid in the production of fluoropoly-
meers, or high-density plastics, which are used to create comput-
er chips and aerospace parts as well as everyday consumer prod-
ucts such as paints, food wrappers, stain-resistant furniture, car-
pets, paper products, weatherproof clothing, and Dupont's
Teflong non-stick cookware.1
PFOA is also disturbingly ubiquitous in the blood of the
general population in the United States, and pervasive through-
out the environment, even appear-
ing in Arctic animals.2 In February
2006, researchers at Johns Hopkins PF0j1
University found PFOA present in
the umbilical cord blood of 99 per -disturbfng/
cent of 300 newborn infants.3 The
chemical is bioaccumulative, in the bI
meaning it remains in human bod- -eneral p
ies and in the environment for an
extended period of time.4
Despite its widespread preva-
lence in the environment and in blood, there is no scientific con-
sensus on how PFOA enters the system, or on its toxicity in
humans. In addition, although it is known that the chemical has
been deliberately released through factory emissions, it is not
clear how consumer products might degrade to release PFOA.5
Studies to understand the chemical, its pathways, and human tox-
icity are underway, but the production and release of PFOA is cur-
rently unregulated by the government.
TH-E EP-s INVESTIGATION oF PFOA
Concern over the prevalence of PFOA in human blood
and in the environment, the lack of understanding concerning
the chemical's pathways, as well as studies linking PFOA to
cancer in lab animals, prompted the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to begin formal investigation of
the chemical in 2003.6 During the investigation, evidence
released in a separate lawsuit revealed that DuPont - the
largest North American producer of PFOA - failed to report
data to the EPA regarding the presence of the chemical in
human fetal cord blood and local tap water for more than
SPRING 2006
jv
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twenty years.7 The EPA charged DuPont with two violations
of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 8(e),
legislation which requires companies to report within fifteen
days any evidence that a chemical may pose a substantial
health risk.8
Most seriously, DuPont withheld information that PFOA
could be transferred from a woman to her fetus via the placen-
ta, the rate of this transfer, and levels of PFOA in newborns and
two-year olds.9 In 1981, DuPont scientists at a West Virginia
Teflon® plant found PFOA in blood samples taken from preg-
nant Teflon® plant workers as well as in local drinking water.10
In addition, DuPont failed to report
serious birth defects in two infants
is .who were monitored by company
S .medical staff.II
-ubiquitous The EPA settled its case against
DuPont in December 2005 for $10.25
,)d of the million in administrative fines, the
largest environmental penalty ever
uiatio i. won by the EPA.2 DuPont pledged
another $6.25 million to environmen-
tal programs.13 The company main-
tains that it did not intentionally withhold information from the
EPA, and thus did not admit legal liability.i4
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS BETWEEN THE
EPA AND DUPONT
In January 2006, the EPA launched a landmark voluntary
stewardship program, enlisting DuPont and seven other compa-
nies to reduce their emissions of PFOA and its presence in con-
sumer products by 95 percent of year 2000 levels by 2010, and
aiming toward 2015 for its elimination.'1 Although DuPont con-
tinues to hold that PFOA is non-toxic and undetectable in its
Teflon products when used normally, the company agreed to the
EPA program citing that the presence of PFOA in people's
blood raises questions that should be addressed.'16
DuPont's cooperative response proved timely -only two
days later, after reviewing the EPA's draft risk assessment of
PFOA, the agency's Science Advisory Board (SAB) deter-
' Mai, Ashby Brown is a.]D Candidate, May 2007, at American University,
Washington College of Law.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/sdlp6&div=87&collection=journals&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Key Teflon Chemical: Center of Lawsuits and Debates
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