FLUORIDE ACTION NETWORK PESTICIDE PROJECT

Return to FAN's Pesticide Homepage

Return to PFOA Class Action Suit

Return to Newspaper articles and Documents related to this Class Action

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).

 

Online at: http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/0927202003_new13ncplant.asp

September 27, 2003

The Marietta Times
(Ohio)

Examining the water we drink:

DuPont turned to new plant in N.C.to produce C8

By Philip Elliott
pelliott@mariettatimes.com

DuPont produces C8 at its Fayetteville, N.C., facility, more than 400 miles away from allegations the chemical has contaminated Mid-Ohio Valley water systems.

A class-action lawsuit argues C8 has made its way into area waterways and has produced increased risks for cancer or disease. DuPont has argued there is no evidence for these claims.

DuPont formerly had relied on 3M, another chemical industry giant, for its supply of C8 to produce Teflon at the Washington Works Plant. 3M started to phase out C8 production in May 2000; DuPont's Fayetteville plant opened in late October 2002.

"Fayetteville is a new facility, built in the last few years," said Clif Webb, a DuPont spokesman. "It's far more efficient from an environmental standpoint."

In Fayetteville, DuPont officials have offered a voluntary blood-monitoring program for employees who work with C8. DuPont's Washington Works Plant near Parkersburg has also monitored workers' blood as part of an overall hygiene program.

"Currently, employees working at the Fayetteville site received information about the properties of C8 well before we began to manufacture the product there, and a voluntary blood-monitoring program has already begun," DuPont said in a statement.

The Fayetteville DuPont facility also monitors groundwater and conducts air emissions modeling for C8 emissions. The DuPont plant's emissions are less than 1 percent of what 3M produced when it made C8. DuPont officials said the Fayetteville facility poses no risk for the water system there.

Chris Smith, the water treatment facilities manager for the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, said his workers do not test for C8 in that water.

"Unless it's in the standard list provided by the EPA, we don't test for that," Smith said.
C8 is not but is under review by the EPA.

Equipment is in place to prevent DuPont water from back-flowing into the Fayetteville piping, Smith said.