Reuters, Steve James
Published December 14, 2005
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chemicals maker DuPont Co. agreed on Wednesday to pay $16.5 million to settle with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over reporting data about a potentially hazardous compound used to make non-stick cookware.
"This is the largest civil administrative penalty the EPA has every obtained under any environmental statute. Not by a little, by a lot," said Granta Nakayama, assistant administrator for the EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
The agreement, subject to final approval by the EPA Environmental Appeals Board, would resolve four counts of reporting violations filed in 2004 under the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Four additional counts, raised by the agency in 2005, also were resolved, the Wilmington, Delaware-based chemical company said. The settlement closes the matter involving perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, for DuPont, without any admission of liability, it added.
However, DuPont still faces class action lawsuits filed in July, charging the chemical producer hid the potential health hazards of PFOA.
The plaintiffs are calling for DuPont to pay damages to class members, create a fund for medical monitoring of consumers who purchased products containing PFOA and put warning labels on cookware.
Also, in May, DuPont received a subpoena from the U.S. Justice Department's Environmental Crimes Section to turn over documents about PFOA. A company spokesman said on Wednesday that DuPont is cooperating and has handed over certain documents to the Justice Department.
Following Wednesday's announcement of a settlement in the EPA cases, DuPont said it will pay $10.25 million in fines and an additional $6.25 million for two supplemental environmental projects to be undertaken.
These include funding for a research program to evaluate the potential for fluorotelomer biodegradation as well as funding for microchemistry and green chemistry programs in certain West Virginia schools.
In September, DuPont agreed to pay $85 million to residents in West Virginia and Ohio to settle a lawsuit over the release of PFOA into the water supply at its Washington Works plant in West Virginia.
"Our interpretation of the reporting requirements differed from the agency's," said DuPont General Counsel Stacey Mobley. "The settlement allows us to put this matter behind us and move forward. We have already cut PFOA emissions from U.S. plant sites by 98 percent, and we are committed to reducing those emissions by 99 percent by 2007."
The EPA's Nakayama said: "EPA takes violations of toxic substances laws seriously and is committed to enforcing those laws. This settlement sends a strong message that companies are responsible for promptly informing EPA about risk information associated with their chemicals."
DuPont said its studies and those from independent researchers confirm that cookware and other consumer products made with DuPont materials are safe. In addition, it said, PFOA to date has had no known health effects on humans.
PFOA, also known as C-8, is used in the process of making non-stick coatings such as Teflon. Tests by 3M Co., the original manufacturer of PFOA, have shown high levels of exposure to the chemical may cause liver damage and reproductive problems in rats.
PFOA can remain in humans for up to four years, according to the EPA, and small amounts of the chemical are found in a large portion of the general U.S. public.
"We are pleased that as a direct result of this settlement with DuPont, valuable information will be produced for the scientific community to better understand the presence of PFOA in the environment and any potential risks it poses to the public," said Susan Hazen, EPA's Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances.
(Additional reporting by Chris Baltimore)
