News Coverage
News Journal: Calif. Bill Sets Limits on Toxic DuPont Chemical
Published August 29, 2008
Lawmakers in California have voted to limit the amount of a controversial DuPont-produced chemical in food-packaging products.
The California Assembly on Wednesday approved a bill that would allow no more than 10 parts per billion of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, in stain - and grease-proof items like fast-food wrappers or pizza boxes by 2010.
If the bill is approved by the state Senate, which passed an earlier
version, it would require California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature to become law. Schwarzenegger has not said whether he will sign it.
PFOA, also known as C8, is used in the production of DuPont's nonstick
coating Teflon as well as other fluoropolymer products. An advisory panel to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recommended listing the chemical as a likely cancer-causing agent in humans; DuPont contends the evidence shows no health risk to the general public from PFOA exposure.
DuPont, the only U.S. manufacturer of PFOA, is one of eight companies
participating in an EPA program to phase out the use of the long-lived
chemical by 2015.
The chemical is not used in the production of grease-resistant coatings for food packaging, like DuPont's Zonyl line of products, but it shows up in trace amounts as a byproduct.
DuPont spokesman Dan Turner said the California bill sets poorly defined standards for replacement products, establishes an unrealistic time frame and ignores the opinions of federal and state regulators that have approved the food-packaging products for public use.
"Consumer safety is the top priority," Turner said. "The best way to achieve this is to allow and trust the experts and scientists at our public agencies to review and determine the safety of products. SB 1313 does not do that -- it takes the decision out of the hands of these qualified experts."
DuPont is working on a line of replacement products, known as Capstone, that the company says will not break down into PFOA in the environment. Turner said DuPont is seeking regulatory approvals to use Capstone products in food packaging.
Bill Walker, a vice president for the Environmental Working Group, said the "army of lobbyists" employed by DuPont and the chemical industry helped persuade California legislators to amend the bill to exclude the Capstone line, which uses a chemical known as C6.
Walker's organization, which early on questioned the effects of PFOA, also has raised questions about the safety of C6, which has not been studied as extensively as PFOA.
"We don't think they have any credibility when they say we're going to get rid of C8, but you can trust us that C6 is okay," Walker said.
Zonyl and similar products are made at DuPont plants across the globe,
including the Chambers Works in Deepwater, N.J., at the foot of the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
Shawn Gilchrist, a director of strategic campaigns for the United
Steelworkers, which represents about 500 workers at Chambers Works, said the California bill was a victory for workers at the plant who have shown higher PFOA levels in their blood than the general public.
"We're tired of being treated like lab rats," he said. "The USW has
challenged DuPont's lack of accountability on these chemicals for this
reason.
"Since this bill dramatically pushes up the timeline for a phase-out of
these chemicals, over the voluntary EPA stewardship program, we hope to see a similar decrease in the workers' blood in the future," Gilchrist said.
