DuPont promises to end PFOA use by 2015

Delaware News Journal, Jeff Montgomery
Published February 6, 2007

The DuPont Co. will end all use of a potentially toxic and long-lived ingredient in nonsticking and stain-resistant products by 2015, and reported rapid progress Monday in phasing out the same materials. DuPont Chairman Charles O. Holliday Jr. said the company plans to double its research and development investments that involve reducing or replacing materials or processes using perfluoroctanooic acid, or PFOA. The chemical is best known as an ingredient in the production of Teflon. "By putting DuPont science to work, we have transformed the way some of our products are made and have achieved greatly reduced PFOA content and emissions while maintaining a high level of performance," Holliday said in a written statement. Company officials reported commercialization of a new process for its fluorotelomer lines that removes 97 percent of PFOA and/or chemicals that form PFOA. Fluorotelomers are compounds used in a wide variety of products, including grease-resistant and nonstick coatings on food packaging. Holliday said for the first time on Monday that the company now has committed to "eliminate the need to make, buy or use PFOA" by 2015. "I'm very encouraged by their actions. I hope other companies are keeping pace with them, but there is still a lot of science to sort out," said Jane Houlihan, research vice president with Environmental Working Group. EWG has pressed the Environmental Protection Agency for years to act on questions about PFOA's toxicity and DuPont's handling of information about the compound. PFOA, sometimes called C8, has been targeted in an EPA risk study triggered by the chemical's detection in human blood worldwide. An EPA advisory panel recently recommended labeling it a "probable" carcinogen. DuPont is the nation's only producer of PFOA, used directly to make Teflon and thousands of other products that rely on chemicals called fluoropolymers. PFOA content in fluoropolymer products, including nonstick coatings, already has fallen by 97 percent through development of a new treatment technology. The company has said that no human health effects are known to be caused by PFOA, and that studies have found cookware and other products made with, or using, DuPont materials are safe for consumer use. PFOA nevertheless is at the center of federal enforcement actions and private lawsuits that could cost DuPont hundreds of millions in settlements and penalties. Traces of the chemical have turned up in groundwater and public drinking-water supplies near DuPont sites around the country, including the Chambers Works in Deepwater, N.J. DuPont's Teflon and associated products account for about $1 billion in company business.