Originally published January 17 2006
Dupont agrees to large settlement to put allegations made by the EPA to rest
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The EPA has accepted Dupont's $10.25 million in fines and $6.25 million for environmental projects to settle allegations made against the company that it concealed information about the toxicity of a chemical used in Teflon.
DuPont Co. has agreed to pay $10.25 million in fines and $6.25 million for environmental projects to settle allegations by the Environmental Protection Agency that the company hid information about the dangers of a toxic chemical used to make the non-stick coating Teflon, officials said Wednesday.
EPA officials said the settlement represents the largest civil administrative penalty the agency has ever obtained under any federal environmental statute.
"Frankly, we could have litigated this thing for several years," said DuPont general counsel Stacey Mobley.
The settlement involves EPA action taken against Dupont for allegedly withholding information about the potential health and environmental risks posed by perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, under provisions of both the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
The EPA alleged that DuPont withheld information for more than 20 years about the health effects of PFOA, also known as C-8, and about the pollution of water supplies near the company's Washington Works plant near Parkersburg, W.Va.
"This sends a strong message that companies are responsible for promptly giving EPA risk information associated with their chemicals," said Granta Nakayama, EPA's assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance.
Susan Hazen, EPA's principal deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances said the studies should produce valuable information that will help scientists better understand the presence of PFOA "and any potential risks it poses to the public."
Lawyers for DuPont and EPA told an administrative law judge Nov. 23 that they had reached a final agreement, but details were not released until Wednesday.
The settlement, which must be approved by the EPA Environmental Appeals Board, resolves four counts of reporting violations filed by the EPA last year.
Under federal law, DuPont faced a potential fine of more than $300 million for not reporting that the chemical posed a substantial risk of injury to health or the environment.
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