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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://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2004/06/25epawillconducts.html
The News Journal - Wilmington,
Delaware
June 25, 2004
EPA will conduct studies
of C-8
DuPont Co. uses chemical in Teflon
By JEFF MONTGOMERY
Staff reporter
The federal government will conduct its own scientific studies of a toxic
compound now commonly found in human bloodstreams after months of trying to
get the chemical industry to agree on how testing should be carried out, an
Environmental Protection Agency official said Thursday.
Charles M. Auer, director of the EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and
Toxics, outlined the agency's position Thursday during a meeting with industry
and other groups in Washington. The session was the sixth in a formal effort
to agree on tests to determine how perfluorooctanoic acid and related compounds
enter the human body and the environment.
"They basically said: 'We're not going to fool around with this any more.
We need the data, you're not giving it to us, we're going to do it ourselves,'
" said Timothy J. Kropp, a senior scientist with the Washington-based
nonprofit Environmental Working Group. The group has pushed for the EPA to
investigate both the chemical and the DuPont Co..
The substance is also known by its initials, PFOA. DuPont calls it C-8.
Such compounds are used in a huge range of consumer products, including Teflon,
carpet stain protectors, fast-food packaging, paper products, cleaning compounds
and clothing.
The substance contaminated the drinking water supply
of 30,000 people in the Ohio River valley, and has become the center of a
class-action lawsuit. DuPont officials have denied wrongdoing or regulatory
violations.
In a preliminary assessment released last year, the EPA cited evidence of
potential nationwide human exposure to low levels of the compounds, which
linger in the environment and accumulate in living tissues.
Those exposures may lead to increased risks of birth defects, developmental
or other health problems, including cancer, the EPA said, based on animal
studies and other research.
The EPA wants to study how C-8 and related chemicals break down and reach
the environment and living tissues. The agency said
it wants several tests on 13 compounds, and would move to carry out its own
studies or conduct parallel tests if talks fail to make progress by next month.
Agency officials last year described the research effort as the largest of
its kind in the EPA's history.
DuPont, one of many companies and organizations involved in talks on the research
effort, is under investigation and faces a potential EPA sanction for possible
failure to report information on health issues connected with use of C-8 in
Teflon production.
DuPont officials said in a prepared statement that the company was part of
a group that has made "significant progress" with the EPA on the
industrywide environmental studies. The company said it supports the EPA's
research decision.
Auer described PFOA research Thursday as "critical," and said that
parallel testing by industry and the EPA would allow for a "good assessment"
of the problem.
"The goal of this process is to obtain agreement to develop data to clarify
exposure to PFOAs," Auer said.
Environmental Working Group officials said the EPA's accelerated approach
reflects the government's concern.
"This is a great decision," Kropp said. "It's unfortunate that
the taxpayers have to foot the bill when the industry has the responsibility
to put forth these studies."
Reach Jeff Montgomery at 678-4277 or jmontgomery@delawareonline.com.