Enviro Group Says C8 Substitutes Not Safe

Greenwire
Published June 10, 2008

The chemicals used to replace the toxic chemical C8 in cookware, waterproof clothing and grease-resistant food packaging are very similar to C8, have harmful health effects, and are shrouded in secrecy by industry and government, according to a new report by an environmental advocacy organization. The Environmental Working Group reviewed industry reports on the replacement chemicals filed under U.S. EPA's voluntary reduction plan and found significant problems. It found companies and the government withholding public details about C8 replacement chemicals' health effects. Chemical makers from January 2007 to April 2008 reported 19 studies on replacement chemicals that showed substantial risk to human health or the environment. Animal tests showed lowered fertility, birth defects, increased number of stillborn pups, changes in the size of vital organs and death. In 17 of those studies, EPA allowed companies to withhold the exact name of the chemicals involved. In 13, EPA withheld the name of the company submitting the study. "Calling these replacement chemicals 'green' is like saying you're safer driving a car at 150 miles per hour instead of 200," said Olga Naidenko, a senior scientist with the Environmental Working Group. "Just like the chemicals they're replacing, these new compounds are extraordinarily persistent in the environment, they're already found in people's blood, and they cross the placenta to contaminate babies before birth" (Ken Ward Jr., Charleston [W.Va.] Gazette, June 10). -- KJH