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C8 or C-8: PFOA is perfluorooctanoic acid and is sometimes called C8. It is a man-made chemical and does not occur naturally in the environment. The "PFOA" acronym is used to indicate not only perfluorooctanoic acid itself, but also its principal salts.
The PFOA derivative of greatest concern and most wide spread use is the ammonium salt (
Ammonium perfluorooctanoate) commonly known as C8, C-8, or APFO and the chemical of concern in the Class Action suit in Ohio.

Ammonium perfluorooctanoate (APFO or C8)
CAS No. 3825-26-1. Molecular formula:

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA or C8)
CAS No: 335-67-1
. Molecular formula:

The DuPont site where APFO is used as a reaction aid is the Washington Works (Route 892, Washington, West Virginia 26181) located along the Ohio River approximately seven miles southwest of Parkersburg, West Virginia.

The Little Hocking Water Association well field is located in Ohio on the north side of the Ohio River immediately across from the Washington Works facility. Consumers of this drinking water have brought a Class Action suit against the Association and DuPont for the contamination of their drinking water with DuPont's APFO, which residents and media refer to as C8.

PFOA is used as a processing aid in the manufacture of fluoropolymers to produce hundreds of items such as non-stick surfaces on cookware (TEFLON), protective finishes on carpets (SCOTCHGUARD, STAINMASTER), clothing (GORE-TEX), and the weather-resistant barrier sheeting used on homes under the exterior siding (TYVEK).

 

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/b1ab9f485b098972852562e7004dc686/afdc5785fd9ee05585256ecb00522cee?OpenDocument

Release date: July 8, 2004

US EPA Press Release

Press Advisory: EPA Takes Enforcement Action Against DuPont For Toxic Substances Reporting Violations

Contact: Cynthia Bergman, 202-564-9828 / bergman.cynthia@epa.gov

EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) is taking an administrative action against E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) for two violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and one violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These violations consist of multiple failures to report information to EPA about substantial risk of injury to human health or the environment from a chemical during a period beginning in June of 1981 through March of 2001. Companies are required by TSCA to report such information immediately. EPA has the authority to seek a penalty of $25,000 per day for violations occurring before January 30, 1997, and up to $27,500 per day for violations occurring thereafter, for each day that DuPont failed to report the information. EPA alleges that DuPont did not submit to the Agency information the company had obtained regarding the synthetic chemical Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA). PFOA is used in the manufacturing process for fluoropolymers, including some Teflon® products, at DuPont's Washington Works facility in Washington, West Virginia.

In 1981, the company observed PFOA in blood samples taken from pregnant workers at the Washington Works facility and at least one woman had transferred the chemical to her fetus. DuPont detected the chemical in public water supplies as early as the mid-1980s in West Virginia and Ohio communities in the vicinity of the Washington Works facility. By 1991 DuPont had information that the chemical was in water supplies at a greater level than the company's exposure guidlelines indicated would be without any effect to members of the community. In 1997, DuPont failed to provide EPA with all toxicological information the company had regarding PFOA, despite an EPA request for such information under the terms of an EPA-issued RCRA permit. An attorney working on a class action suit on behalf of citizens in Ohio and West Virginia brought this information to the EPA in 2001.

The information that DuPont had obtained about PFOA was, and continues to be, pertinent to the Agency's ongoing work to better understand PFOA. Since April 2003, EPA has been working cooperatively with DuPont, 3M, other companies, and interested parties to develop the information necessary to better understand the sources and exposure pathways of PFOA. This public effort will lead to the development of information that will assist the Agency in determining what voluntary or regulatory actions, if any, would be appropriate to protect human health and environment. This rigorous scientific review will ensure that any future regulatory action on PFOA is protective of public health and supported by the best scientific information. EPA is working to complete a revised risk assessment, which will be released in Fall 2004 for public peer review by the Agency's Science Advisory Board. To learn more about the Agency's ongoing evaluation of PFOA visit: http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/pfoa/

To view the complaint, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/complaints/civil/mm/dupont-pfoa-complaint.pdf

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