DuPont: $1 billion a year at stake on C8

Charleston Gazette, Ken Ward Jr.
Published November 5, 2005

DuPont Co. disclosed Friday that $1 billion a year in company revenues are at stake in the fight over potential regulation of the toxic chemical C8. The revenues "could be affected by any such regulation or prohibition" on C8, the Wilmington, Del.-based chemical giant told its shareholders. DuPont disclosed the figure on Friday in its quarterly financial report, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It marked the first time that DuPont has put a value on its use of the chemical ammonium perfluorooctanoate, also known as PFOA or C8. By contrast, DuPont reported total corporate income - for C8 and non-C8 products - in 2004 of $1.8 billion on $28 billion in revenues. In court papers, one company executive previously testified that DuPont makes about $200 million a year from products made with C8. "Currently, PFOA is not regulated by the EPA and there are no regulatory actions pending that would prohibit its production or use," DuPont said in its SEC filing. "However, there can be no assurance that the EPA or any other regulatory entity will not in the future choose to regulate or prohibit the production or use of PFOA." Since at least 1951, DuPont has used C8 at its Washington Works plant south of Parkersburg. The chemical is used to make the popular Teflon products, similar nonstick materials and dozens of other products. Fueled in large part by internal DuPont documents uncovered by lawyers for Wood County residents, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun a detailed study of the chemical and sued DuPont for allegedly hiding information about C8's dangers. DuPont is also facing a criminal investigation related to C8. Earlier this year, a Wood County judge approved DuPont's payment of $107.6 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged the company poisoned thousands of residents' drinking water with C8. A coalition of DuPont shareholders, DuPont Shareholders for Fair Value, has been pushing the company to fully disclose the financial and other risks associated with the production and use of PFOA. The group has filed a series of letters with the SEC complaining about the poor disclosure by DuPont. "Shareholders have been poorly informed by DuPont for the past 25 years regarding the health, environmental and financial risks of PFOA and Teflon known to the management," said Sanford Lewis, a spokesman for the shareholders group. "Under pressure from its investors, DuPont has made a first step toward acknowledging the enormous risks associated with PFOA."