News Coverage
Charleston Gazette: Safety of C8 Substitutes Questioned
Government, industry hiding products' effects on health, environmental group charges
Published June 10, 2008
More than two years ago, federal regulators and the chemical industry announced plans to phase out the use of the toxic chemical C8 in cookware, waterproof clothing and grease-resistant food packaging.
Since the January 2006 announcement, companies such as DuPont and 3M have rushed to find substitute products and get those products on the market. The industry says these new chemicals are safe and effective.
But the replacement chemicals are very similar to C8, cause a "staggering array of health effects," and are shrouded in secrecy by industry and government, according to a new report by the nonprofit advocacy organization Environmental Working Group.
"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 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."
In West Virginia, C8 is a major issue because the water supplies for thousands of Parkersburg- area residents have been contaminated with the toxic chemical.
C8 is another name for ammonium perfluorooctanoate, or PFOA. DuPont has used the chemical since the 1950s at its Washington Works plant south of Parkersburg. C8 is a processing agent used to make Teflon and other nonstick products, oil-resistant paper packaging and stain-resistant textiles.
Around the world, researchers are finding that people have C8 and other perfluorochemicals, or PFCs, in their blood in low levels. Evidence is mounting about the chemical's dangerous effects, but regulators have not set a federal standard for emissions or human exposure.
Scientists are still sorting out how humans are exposed, but previous studies have examined Teflon pans, food and food packaging, and household dust as potential routes.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that eight major companies "have reported significant drops" in the release of PFOA and related chemicals "putting industry on target to meet a 95 percent reduction goal" by 2010.
DuPont, for example, reported emissions reductions from 49,400 pounds to 1,100 pounds. Company spokesman Dan Turner said that DuPont is "pleased and excited" about its progress.
But the Environmental Working Group reviewed the industry reports filed under EPA's voluntary reduction plan, and found significant problems.
Other companies reported their emissions figures only in broad ranges - from 1,000 to 10,000 pounds - that made clear comparisons over time impossible. One company, Daikin, listed its emissions figures as confidential business information. Another, Asahi Glass Co., cut emissions by only 6 percent.
The Environmental Working Group also found that companies and government are withholding from the public details about studies of C8 replacement chemical health effects.
From January 2007 to April 2008, chemical makers reported to EPA 19 studies on replacement chemicals that showed "substantial risk" to human health or the environment. Among other things, the studies in test animals found lowered fertility, birth defects, increased number of stillborn pups, changes in the size of various vital organs, and death of test animals.
But in 17 of those studies, EPA has allowed companies to withhold the exact name of the chemical involved. In 13 of the studies, the EPA has withheld the name of the company thatsubmitted the study.
"Redacted studies that conceal the chemical name and the company name and that contain no information on the range of consumer products the chemicals might be used in are of little use to the public," the Environmental Working Group said in its report.
Between 2005 and 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved eight new food packaging fluorochemicals. But the Environmental Working Group said the approvals were granted "with no public record of any health risk assessment."
Since that time, the FDA has approved two more C8 substitutes, and DuPont has announced its new PFOA replacement, Capstone, will be available next year.
Turner said DuPont has not yet introduced any new products for food packaging applications. Before those products go on the market, he said, they will be thoroughly tested.
In its report, the Environmental Working Group said the industry's contention that these replacements are safe rests mostly on the fact that they have six carbon atoms, rather than the eight C8 has. But so far, studies show that C6 is equally persistent in the environment, is
potentially three to five times more toxic to aquatic life, and - like C8 - crosses the placenta to contaminate children before birth.
Naidenko, the group's senior scientist, said, "DuPont and the rest of the chemical industry are continuing a decades-long pattern of cover-ups and nondisclosure about the serious hazards of
these chemicals.
"When the industry talks about the safety of existing PFCs or their replacements, they really have very little credibility," she said.
To contact staff writer Ken Ward Jr., use e-mail or call 348-1702.
