USW backs suit against DuPont over chemical

Star-Ledger (NJ), Andrew Frankum
Published May 30, 2006

PITTSBURGH -- United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo W. Gerard has announced his 850,000-member union is backing the lawsuit to clean up water supplies potentially contaminated by the synthetic chemical perfluorooctanoic acid used at DuPont's Chambers Works in Deepwater. "We have joined in the past year with communities in New Jersey and other states to hold DuPont Co. accountable for any contamination of water supplies from its plants and any adverse effects on workers and nearby residents," Gerard said in a news release issued late last week. Perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as PFOA, is a processing agent used in the production of non-stick cookware and all-weather clothing. The DuPont Chambers Works uses the chemical to produce its Teflon line of non-stick cookware. The chemical is used at the Chambers Works, but not manufactured there. DuPont was the target of a class action lawsuit filed in early April citing the small amounts of PFOA found in the drinking water in three area homes. The suit asks for compensatory damages, attorneys fees and cost as well as medical monitoring. James Rowe, president of USW Local 4-943 at Chambers Works, said he supports the recent lawsuit to find what effects the chemical will have on residents and workers. "We want to find out how our members, families, friends and neighbors have been impacted," Rowe said. "Hopefully the lawsuit will make DuPont accountable for its actions and any failure to inform workers and the community of the harmful effects of these chemicals." The USW also joined the Sierra Club, Environmental Law Foundation, Environment California, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Environmental Working Group to file a petition in California this February to have PFOA listed as "a chemical that is known to the state to cause cancer" under Proposition 65. Despite the lawsuit, DuPont officials still maintain the water in the effected areas is safe to drink. John Strait, plant manager at Chambers Works, said in past interviews that the amount of PFOA found is far below any established guidelines for drinking water safety. He also said the lawsuit implies that 50 parts per trillion is an unacceptable level of PFOA in drinking water when that number is neither a public health standard nor a threshold for obtaining compensation through litigation.