http://www1.dupont.com/NASApp/dupontglobal/corp/index.jsp?page=/content/US/en_US/news/releases/2004/nr08_12_04a.html
August 12,
2004
Press Release: DuPont
DuPont Responds to
EPA Complaint on Alleged PFOA Reporting Violations
Company Reaffirms It Complied With All Laws, Continues to Support
EPA Review Process
WILMINGTON, Del.,
Aug. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DuPont (NYSE: DD - News) today reaffirmed
that it fully and promptly reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) all appropriate information regarding PFOA, an essential
processing aid used to make fluoropolymers.
"Our company
has been and will continue to be forthright in providing information to
the EPA that goes beyond compliance and, at the same time, helps the agency's
efforts to improve its understanding of PFOA," said DuPont General
Counsel Stacey J. Mobley.
DuPont reiterated
that it is fully supportive of EPA's review of PFOA that began in April
2003 and is providing industry leadership as part of the process. The
company recognizes that there are questions about the persistence of PFOA
and, as a result, has developed and implemented both state-of-the-art
manufacturing technology in Fayetteville, N.C.,
and emissions control technology in Parkersburg, W.Va., that have reduced
PFOA emissions by as much as 99 percent. DuPont is sharing the emissions
control technology broadly with other companies to reduce PFOA emissions
on a global basis.
The company draws
a clear distinction between resolution of the reporting issues raised
in the complaint and the continuing effort by EPA to gain a better understanding
of the potential risks associated with exposure to PFOA.
The company said that
it has complied with the requirements and regulatory guidelines established
under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Resource Conservation
Recovery Act (RCRA). "Our response today to the agency is thorough
and complete - we are confident that we have met all reporting obligations,"
said Mobley.
DuPont responded today
to the three specific counts in the EPA complaint summarized as follows:
Count 1 - EPA contends
that a blood monitoring data point recorded in 1981 was reportable under
TSCA and should have been available to the agency. DuPont said that this
single data point, showing a trace presence of PFOA, does not associate
PFOA with any risk to human health, and does not by definition meet the
"substantial risk" threshold that would require reporting under
the TSCA statute.
"Scientific evidence
confirms that the trace amount of PFOA found in this one data point would
pose no risk to human health," said Mobley. "In the absence
of substantial risk of harm, the information is simply not required to
be reported."
Count 2 - EPA contends
that DuPont was required under regulations to report instances where water
sampling data exceeded the company's voluntary community exposure guidelines
for water. DuPont contends that its guideline, set in 1992 in the absence
of any EPA regulation, was not created to measure risk, but is a tool
that the company uses to guide its decisions for process engineering and
environmental controls.
"This claim is
particularly perplexing to our company," Mobley said. "It is
difficult to understand how the agency can claim we committed a reporting
violation based on a voluntary DuPont guideline that is almost 150 times
more protective than EPA's safety guidance for drinking water - a standard
adopted in 2002 by EPA Regions III and V."
Count 3 - EPA contends
that DuPont failed to provide toxicological information under RCRA reporting
requirements in the late 1990s. DuPont contends that the information in
dispute was not a toxicological study and that it fully complied with
EPA's request.
"We provided
the agency with the results of 22 toxicology studies, including studies
of acute, chronic, developmental, genetic, and aquatic toxicity,"
said Mobley. "We responded completely and accurately to EPA's request,
providing all relevant information."
In April of last year
EPA said that it "does not believe there is any reason for consumers
to stop using any consumer or industrial-related products" because
of questions about PFOA. DuPont agrees fully with EPA's position and remains
confident that PFOA is safe.
"We have and
will continue to manage PFOA safely," said Mobley. "We expect
to resolve the issues raised in the EPA complaint and will remain committed
to supporting the agency in its review of the compound."
DuPont is a science
company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable
solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere.
Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative
products and services for markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics,
communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation
and apparel.
DuPont's complete
response to the EPA complaint is available at the link below:
http://www1.dupont.com/dupontglobal/corp/documents/US/en_US/news/releases/pdf/answer_and_request_for_hearing.pdf
Also
see DuPont's News and Media site on PFOA at
http://www1.dupont.com/NASApp/dupontglobal/corp/index.jsp?page=/news/position/pfoac8.html
