C8 a likely cancer risk, federal report says

Not all on science panel agree with that decision

Wilmington News Journal, Jeff Montgomery
Published January 31, 2006

Most members of a federal advisory panel continue to support putting a label of "likely" human carcinogen on long-lived chemicals used to make Teflon and other nonstick products and coatings, according to a draft report released Monday. The designation is stronger than an Environmental Protection Agency finding that studies so far are only "suggestive" of cancer risks. In the draft report, scheduled for public review Feb. 15, members of a Science Advisory Board committee acknowledged disagreement over the designation. "The predominant panel view was that the descriptor 'likely to be carcinogenic' was more consistent with currently available data," the report found. A minority agreed with an EPA conclusion that animal test results were only "suggestive" of cancer-causing potential in humans. EPA adoption of the "likely" label could trigger more elaborate risk estimates for each of the cancer types brought to light in earlier exposure studies. Advisory board members put off final adoption of the report last year amid disagreement over the choice of words. The majority agreed that evidence points to risks from multiple cancers, including liver, pancreas, breast and testes. Studies also are warranted for effects on children and on the nervous and immune systems, the report noted Monday. "Our position on this is that we do not agree with the recommended cancer classification as likely," said Dr. Robert Rickard, DuPont chief toxicologist. "We believe that it was based on animal data and does not adequately reflect the human data." DuPont is now the nation's only producer of PFOA, sometimes called C8. Perfluorooctanoic acid and related chemicals are used to produce Teflon and thousands of other industrial and consumer products. Variations on the chemical theme play a part in making everything from cookware to fast-food wrappers, firefighting foam, stain-resistant fabrics, lubricants, electronics goods and architectural coatings. Teflon and related products are worth about $1 billion yearly to DuPont. Teflon safe Both industry and the EPA have emphasized that Teflon and other consumer and industrial products are safe for public use. Concern about PFOA has mounted in recent years amid reports that it has turned up in the bloodstreams of humans and animals around the globe, unexplained findings that already have prompted a rare industry-supported EPA risk evaluation. Federal officials have reported that PFOA might be spreading in the environment through factory emissions and possibly through chemical breakdowns as products are burned or weathered. Rickard said the Science Advisory Board report relied on data developed through mid-2004, and pointed out that "significant new information" has accumulated and should be considered. Rickard said, "We do not believe that PFOA is a cancer risk to people." Some groups have described PFOA as indestructible, pointing out that it accumulates and lingers in human bloodstreams, with contamination levels likely to drop by only 50 percent after four years. In the draft report released Monday, advisory board members encouraged EPA testing to determine risks from a variety of cancers. The report was released days after the EPA called on industry to voluntarily eliminate all pollution from PFOA and related compounds. "It confirms that we've got a chemical that's in everyone's blood and it's persistent and we've got some concerns on multiple fronts," said Tim Kropp, senior scientist for Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. "It makes sense to phase it out." The EPA in a statement noted that the board's work will be used along with "all the additional and new information under development on PFOA" in preparation of a final government position. Reserve established In mid-December, DuPont agreed to pay $16.5 million in fines and compensatory spending to settle EPA charges the company failed to report PFOA releases and human exposures, and information about possible toxic effects. The company established a $108 million reserve last year to cover class-action lawsuit settlements with West Virginia and Ohio residents. The possibility of medical monitoring expenses could raise that figure to $235 million.