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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). |
July 29, 2004
The Marietta Times (Ohio)
DuPont sets aside $45M
for lawsuit
By Jessica Burchard
DuPont is setting aside $45 million for expected costs of the lawsuit alleging
the company put unregulated chemicals used to make Teflon into the water supplies
of some Ohio and West Virginia communities.
The fund was noted in DuPont's quarterly fiscal report
issued earlier this week. A trial on the lawsuit is set to begin Sept. 20
in Wood County Circuit Court in Parkersburg.
A lawyer representing citizens in the case said the fund is irrelevant to
the plaintiffs.
"That's an internal thing for DuPont," said Harry Deitzler, a Charleston,
W.Va., lawyer helping represent the citizens against the company. "Whatever
a company does internally really is irrelevant to anyone outside of the company.
It has no bearing on the decision-making process."
The suit claims the company knew about the dangers of the chemical C8, which
is used at the company's DuPont Washington, W.Va., Works plant in Wood County,
but failed to do anything about it.
The chemical has been detected in several area water systems, including the
Little Hocking Water Association which serves about 4,000 customers in western
Washington County. Anyone who has the chemical in their
water is a part of the suit.
DuPont denies that the chemical is harmful to human health. Also, the company
declined to comment about the $45 million lawsuit fund other than to issue
a statement about its second quarter financial report.
In a published report on Wednesday, a DuPont spokesman was quoted as saying
that the company felt it was at a point where it could estimate the cost of
being involved in such a lawsuit.
A spokeswoman for an environmental action group that has been studying and
following the C8 issue said the $45 million would be better spent on other
efforts.
"It is amazing that DuPont is willing to put up this much money to fight
a legal battle, rather than take responsibility for polluting the bodies of
people in Ohio and West Virginia as well as the rest of the nation,"
said Lauren Sucher, communications director of the Environmental Working Group.
Sucher said the group would prefer that DuPont put more money into seeking
alternatives for the chemical.
The outcome of the lawsuit has the potential to affect
upward of thousands of people in the Mid-Ohio Valley. It is estimated that
25,000 to 50,000 people will be represented in the lawsuit.
One resident said she was surprised by how many people could be involved in
the lawsuit.
"I didn't realize that there were so many people whose lives had been
affected that way," said Gale Moyers, Little Hocking water customer from
Barlow.
The Associated Press and Tom Hrach contributed.