DuPont Agrees to EPA Request To Phase Out Teflon Compound
The Environmental Protection Agency asked eight chemical makers to voluntarily halt their use of a chemical used in the production of Teflon and other nonstick products, and DuPont Co. said it will commit to the request.
The agency asked the companies to gradually reduce the use of perflourooctanoic acid, or PFOA, which is used in the manufacture of nonstick cookware, waterproofing products and some fast food containers. Some studies link PFOA to cancers in animals, but the EPA hasn’t determined that the chemical poses a risk for humans. DuPont said its studies indicate that cookware and other consumer products made using PFOA are safe for consumers.
DuPont is the only U.S. producer of PFOA. The other seven companies buy the substance from DuPont and a couple of non-US chemical companies, and they use it to produce a variety of household products. By focusing on the eight companies, the EPA would eliminate more than three-quarters of the use of PFOA globally, leaving China as the largest remaining producer of the substance, according to DuPont officials.
The EPA asked the eight companies to reduce their use of PFOA by 95% by 2010 and to eliminate it by 2015. The other companies are 3M/Dynean Co., a unit of 3M Co., St. Paul, Minnesota; Paris-based Arkema Inc.; Japan’s AGC Chemicals/Asahi Glass; Switzerland’s Ciba Specialty Chemicals Holdings Inc.; Switzerland-based Clariant Corp.; Japan’s Daikin Industries Ltd.; and Italy’s Solvay Solexis. These companies were unable to comment.
Last month, the EPA imposed a $10.25 million fine on DuPont, the largest civil penalty in its history, as part of a settlement of charges that the company hid information on PFOA. DuPont’s most serious violation of reporting rules was that is failed to report that it knew in 1981 that a mother had transferred PFOA residues in her body to her fetus during pregnancy. As part of the settlement, DuPont announced that it would reduce its emissions of the substance by 98%, and it said yesterday that it had already reached the 94% mark. But in a statement, the Wilmington, Delaware, company said it will stop using PFOA altogether. The company said it can continue to make its products without using PFOA.
DuPont still faces issues surrounding PFOA. A U.S. federal grand jury has subpoenaed documents from the company regarding the substance. DuPont could have to pay as much as $235 million if a $5 million study funded by the company finds a probable link between exposure to the chemical and nay diseases.
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