DuPont to Pay $16.5 Million for Unreported Risks

New York Times, Michael Janofsky
Published December 15, 2005

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 - The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that it had reached a $16.5 million settlement with DuPont, which it had accused of failing to report information about the health and environmental risks of a substance used in making Teflon and other plastics. The settlement includes $10.25 million in fines, which the agency says is the largest administrative penalty it has ever imposed, and a commitment by DuPont to spend another $6.25 million for two environmental projects in lieu of more fines. "This settlement sends a strong message that companies are responsible for promptly informing E.P.A. about risk information associated with their products," said Granta Y. Nakayama, assistant administrator for the agency's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. The agency said DuPont had withheld information about perfluorooctanoic acid, a chemical known as PFOA that is used in processing high-performance plastics, from residents near the company's plant in Parkersburg, W.Va., where the chemical contaminated local waters. The agency said the company had information on the chemical's potential risk as early as 1981 but did not report it, as required by the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. Stacey J. Mobley, DuPont's general counsel, said the company had interpreted the reporting requirements differently but had agreed to the settlement "to get this case behind us." Under the agreement, DuPont was not required to admit liability, a standard arrangement in cases the agency is eager to close. While Mr. Nakayama described the size of the settlement as "appropriate" when weighed against the costs of litigation, the Environmental Working Group, a research organization, described it as woefully inadequate for DuPont, the nation's third-largest chemical company. "This fine, at the very least, should have prompted DuPont to apologize to the public for its actions," said Ken Cook, president of the group. The information that the agency accused DuPont of withholding came to light during a 2001 class action lawsuit against the company, filed by residents living near the West Virginia plant who claimed that the chemical had contaminated local waters. The company settled the case last February for more than $107 million. After Mr. Cook's group brought the information to the E.P.A., an agency investigation led to eight charges against the company that largely focused on studies of PFOA in blood, water and rats. Officials from the agency and DuPont said that so far there were no studies proving that PFOA was a significant health hazard to humans.