Online
at: http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/0927202003_new12historyct.asp
September
27, 2003
The
Marietta Times
(Ohio)
Examining the water we
drink:
Chemical giant 3M plays
key role in C8 story
By Callie Lyons
In May 2000, 3M (Minnesota
Mining and Manufacture), of Maplewood, Minn., announced its decision to
voluntarily phase out an entire family of chemicals made up of eight carbon
atom compounds. The decision included PFOA, known locally as C8.
"The main issue was that we found PFOS widespread in the environment
and people," said Rick Renner, 3M spokesman. "It was a breakdown
product of chemicals we were using. It included eight other carbon compounds,
including PFOA."
Renner said the company stopped commercial sale of the substances, but still
manufactures some for internal use to make fluoropolymers.
"We have done an enormous amount of research on the safety aspects,"
Renner said. "We decided to put it all out in the public record and
have shared it with the EPA. Basically, our reading is that at the low levels
at which the material is found, there are no health or environmental effects."
Renner said the decision
to phase out the chemical family was a case of proactive corporate responsibility.
It was 3M Co. that brought the prevalence of the chemicals to the
attention of the EPA. This information eventually
led to the largest investigation of a manufacturing chemical ever performed
by the agency, which is under way now.
"The first issue was with PFOS," Renner said. "Later, the
EPA became interested in PFOA."
While the company claims the phase-out was voluntary, some environmentalists
believe otherwise.
Researchers from the Environmental Working Group of Washington, D.C., suggest
that pressure from the EPA led the company to its decision. PFOS and PFOA
are separate chemical substances within the eight-carbon chain family, each
with its own set of hazards and paths of exposure. However, scientific data
from 3M indicates the company was scrutinizing the fate and effects of both.
In 3M lab studies, PFOA produced dose-related increases in liver, pancreas
and cell tumors. A 1992 study of workers at 3M's Chemolite plant in Cottage
Grove, Minn., found that "10 years of employment in PFOA production
was associated with a significant threefold increase in prostate cancer
mortality."
Ultimately, 3M opted to develop two new alternative substances to replace
PFOS in its products. One of the substances, perfluorobutane sulfonate,
or PFBS, is a sister chemical to PFOS that does not break down. The environmental
fate and toxicological profile of PFBS were extensively reviewed before
the substance was put into use. Test findings indicate the substance is
not bioaccumulative or toxic, according to the standards of the EPA. C8
timeline
DuPont began monitoring public water supplies for C8 as far back as 1984,
but local water consumers were unaware of its presence until 2001, when
it was discovered as a result of testing for a lawsuit brought by neighbors
of the Washington, W. Va. plant.
1938 - Teflon discovered by Roy J. Plunkett.
1949 - DuPont introduced Teflon.
1981 - DuPont found C8 in the blood of female plant workers at Washington
Works; 50 women reassigned after two of seven children born to female plant
workers between 1979 and 1981 had birth defects.
1984 - DuPont found PFOA in the tap water of the Little Hocking Water Association,
and other area public water supplies.
1999 - EPA receives new data on PFOS, a related chemical used by 3M Co.
in Scotchgard products. The EPA begins an investigation of PFOA and related
fluorochemicals.
May 2000 - 3M Co. announces the phaseout of PFOS products.
June 2000 - EPA identifies possible concerns with PFOS and PFOA.
July 2000 - The Telomer Research Group meets with the EPA for the first
time to announce a voluntary program to research telomer products.
August 2001 -
A class-action suit is filed in Wood County Circuit Court against DuPont
on behalf of as many as 50,000 people affected by C8.
Jan. 2002 - C8 is discovered in the Little Hocking Water Association system.
April 2003 - EPA releases Preliminary Risk Assessment on PFOA.
May 2003 - Judge George W. Hill orders DuPont to pay for blood testing to
monitor exposure in affected people. Hill calls C8 "toxic and hazardous."
DuPont appeals the ruling and asks Hill to dismiss himself from the case.
June 2003 - EPA holds first public meeting to engage interested parties
in talks to achieve enforceable consent agreements with regard to testing
for the toxicity of PFOA.
September 2003 - Appeals in Wood County class-action lawsuit to be heard
by the West Virginia Supreme Court.
Source: EPA and staff research
