EPA Wants To Eliminate Teflon Chemical

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday invited the DuPont Co. and other chemical companies to join a global effort to eliminate use of a chemical utilized in making Teflon and other nonstick and stain-resistant products that may pose potential health risks to humans.

The initiative calls for DuPont and seven other companies that manufacture or use perfluorooctanoic acid, its precursors, and similar compounds to reduce environmental releases and levels of those chemicals in products by 95 percent no later than 2010, using the year 2000 as a baseline.

The EPA also wants the industry to work toward the elimination of PFOA and related chemicals from emissions and products by no later than 2015.

"We think this is a great opportunity for industry to get ahead of the curve and demonstrate leadership in protecting the environment," said Charles Auer, director of EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.

Auer said EPA administrator Stephen Johnson sent letters to the eight companies Wednesday inviting them to commit to the program by March 1.

The companies are being asked to provide 2000 baseline data by October, and to report each October on their progress.

DuPont officials have agreed to participate in the program.

"We've been working on this emission reduction activity for a number of years," said DuPont vice president Susan Stalnecker. "We feel very confident that we will be able to meet the goals EPA has set."

While DuPont has eliminated PFOA emissions by more than 90 percent in recent years, the company does not believe it can eliminate the use of PFOA in product manufacturing any time soon.

"We've been looking for 30 years and we have not found an acceptable substitute for PFOA," said David Boothe, business manager for DuPont fluoroproducts, adding that the company is committed to working toward the EPA's goal of eliminating PFOA and related chemicals from emissions and products.

Other companies invited to participate in the voluntary program are 3M/Dyneon Arkema Inc., AGC Chemicals/Asahi Glass, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Clariant Corp., Daikin and Solvay Solexis.

Meanwhile, the EPA is awaiting a final decision from a science advisory board that is reviewing a draft risk assessment of PFOA. A majority of board members concluded in a draft report that the chemical is "likely" to be carcinogenic to humans. The board's preliminary finding went beyond the EPA's own determination that there was only "suggestive evidence" from animal studies that perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts are potential human carcinogens.

"The science on PFOA is still coming in, but the concern is there," said Susan Hazen, EPA's acting assistant administrator for the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances.

DuPont agreed last month to pay $10.25 million in fines and $6.25 million for environmental projects to settle allegations by the EPA that the company hid information about the health risks of PFOA.

As part of the settlement, DuPont agreed to pay $5 million for a study, to be completed within three years, examining the potential of nine DuPont fluorotelomer-based products to breakdown to form PFOA, which can be found in the blood of most Americans.

"We know there are questions out there in the public, and this is part of DuPont's use of science to come up with solutions," Stalnecker said.

Hazen said the EPA is working to add PFOA to the agency's Toxic Release Inventory.

"All of that work would continue under this stewardship program," Auer said.

The Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.,-based advocacy group that helped prompt EPA's scrutiny of PFOA, applauded both the agency and DuPont for their leadership in establishing the stewardship program.

"We will watch it very carefully," said EWG president Ken Cook. "We're taking nothing for granted."