http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/0910202004_new03dutpooot.asp
September 10, 2004
The Marietta Times
(Ohio)
DuPont OKs C8 suit
settlement
By Justin McIntosh,
jmcintosh@mariettatimes.com
The settlement of
a class-action lawsuit worth nearly $343 million was agreed to Thursday
between DuPont and as many as 60,000 area residents who claim a chemical
in their drinking water is a risk to their health.
The lawsuit alleged
the chemical giant contaminated drinking water supplies in West Virginia
and Ohio with the chemical C8, also known as ammonium perfluorooctanoate
or PFOA, a key ingredient of its Teflon products. The case was set to
go to trial in October.
The settlement must
still be approved by a Wood County Circuit Court judge, but if approved
it means the company would provide for a cleanup of water systems contaminated
with C8 and establish an unbiased scientific panel to look for links between
C8 exposure and human disease.
More than 12,000 Washington
County residents have some level of C8 in their drinking water.
If a link is found, residents with a disease or health problem related
to C8 could seek additional compensation beyond the $343 million settlement.
However, if no link
is established, the company would be free from any future lawsuits, said
Harry Deitzler, one of the lawyers for the residents.
Paul Bossert, plant
manager for the Washington Works facility outside of Parkersburg, said
the settlement in no way signifies any guilt on DuPont's behalf.
"We're still
very confident in the basis for our beliefs around its safety," Bossert
said of C8. "There's
really no evidence of any adverse human health effects associated with
PFOA."
Some studies have
found high levels of C8 to cause cancer in lab animals and at least one
study has suggested a link between C8 and ill health in humans. But
the chemical is at present unregulated and the federal Environmental Protection
Agency is working to establish once and for all what levels of C8, if
any, are considered safe.
DuPont has used C8
for more than 50 years in the production of Teflon at the Washington Works
plant. The company also operates West Virginia plants in Berkeley and
Kanawha counties.
Neighbors of the Washington
Works plant allege DuPont polluted their drinking water with unsafe levels
of C8. Their lawsuit also says the company has known for decades C8 was
harmful to humans but concealed that knowledge from the public. The company
was recently fined by the federal EPA for just that reason, although the
amount of the fine has not yet been established. DuPont is fighting that
finding.
Jane Houlihan, vice
president for research at the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit
advocacy group, said the settlement is among the highest ever and is an
admission of guilt by DuPont.
"I think at this
point, DuPont's liabilities are almost limitless," Houlihan said.
Houlihan likened the
settlement to the $333 million settlement in Hinkley, Calif., against
Pacific Gas & Electric. In 2000 the story behind that lawsuit was
made into a movie starring Julia Roberts as legal assistant Erin Brockovich.
If approved by the
circuit judge, DuPont would end up paying $343 million. The first payment
would fund a $5 million study into whether C8 causes disease in humans.
If a scientific panel
finds such a link, DuPont would pay nearly $235 million for medical testing
of the 60,000 residents.
Houlihan said that
independent study is the most critical part of the settlement because
it means citizens will get a fair assessment of C8's health effects.
For years the company
has performed its own tests on the chemical and claimed there are no adverse
health effects from C8.
After the study, the
company would then spend another $10 million to remove as much C8 from
the area's water supply as possible.
That chunk of money
is what interests Bob Griffin, general manager of Little Hocking Water
Association, the most. The $10 million will build state-of-the-art water
treatment plants for six public service districts: Lubeck and Mason County
in West Virginia and Little Hocking, Belpre, Tuppers Plains and Pomeroy
in Ohio.
"Our goal has
been all along we felt we should have water that is free of C8,"
Griffin said. Little Hocking Water serves 12,000 people in Washington
County and has one of the highest concentrations of the chemical.
Of the approximate
60,000 people involved in the lawsuit, more than two-thirds are Ohio residents.
Customers of Little
Hocking Water had some differing reactions to the news about the settlement.
"It's a bad situation
any way you go, whether they settle or not," said Dana Gill, 74,
of Little Hocking Route 1. "I think spending the money finding out
if there are problems (with C8) is the only thing to do. It's a good idea."
Mark Brown, 45, of
Vincent, said he believes the amount of the settlement was not enough.
"The only bad
thing about a settlement is that DuPont never really accepts responsibility,"
Brown said. "If C8 is dangerous, they should have to pay even more
to help reverse the damage they've done."
A news release from
DuPont said the company would offer "the same technology or its equivalent
to residents of those districts whose sole source of drinking water is
a private well."
Another $70 million
will go into a fund to be overseen by a court-appointed administrator,
with at least $20 million of that paying for health and education projects.
About $22.6 million of the potential settlement is earmarked for lawyers'
fees and expenses.
Deitzler said it would
have taken two years to reach this point if the case had been litigated.
"We strongly
believe that the proposed settlement is in the best interest of the class,"
Deitzler said Thursday.
The Ohio EPA has also
looked into C8 and DuPont.
Linda Oros, spokeswoman
for the Ohio EPA, said it's too early to tell what impact the settlement
will have on their actions.
"I don't even
know if the settlement would influence what we're doing or not,"
Oros said.
The Associated Press
and reporter Kate York contributed to this report.
C8 case 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 or C8 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 60,000 people affected by C8.
January 2002 - A public
announcement is made that 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.
March 18, 2004 - Wood
County Circuit Judge George W. Hill rules three DuPont documents previously
sealed should be unsealed in the pending C8 case.
April 29, 2004 - DuPont
announces it will undertake an employee health survey to determine if
the chemical C8 has an adverse health effect on its workers.
May 7, 2004 - The
West Virginia Supreme Court votes to unseal DuPont internal documents
that indicate that company employees had concerns for years about health
issues surrounding C8.
June 17, 2004 - The
U.S. EPA announces it is investigating alleged violations by DuPont for
failure to report health related information regarding C8.
July 8, 2004 - The
U.S. EPA announces that DuPont will be fined between $1 million and $300
million for failing to report the health information about C8.
Sept. 9, 2004 - DuPont
agrees to a proposed settlement totalling $343 million in the class action
lawsuit.Source: EPA and staff research
