Document 2jnd0zZzDqyOpOKxMKp4DYLQg

Environmental Working Group || Policy Memo: DuPont, Teflon, Water, Contamination,... Page 1 o f 2 ARasi6- is o 7 EWG ANALYSIS > > i EWG announcement > > | EWG petition to EPA > > | Explanation of regulations > > | The study DuPont withheld (PDF) LEGAL INFORMATION (PDF files) > > ! 15 USC 2607: Reporting requirements > > ! 15 USC 2615: Civil & criminal penalties EPA DRAFT RISK ASSESSMENT > > | EWG news release > > | EPA website CONTACT INFORMATION > > i Contact DuPont >>l Contact EPA RELATED EWG CONTENT >>] Report: PFCs > > ! EWG Review: EPA draft risk assessment > > I EWG Review: DuPont hid Teflon pollution 0003S1 April 11, 2003 The Honorable Christine Todd Whitman Adm inistrato r U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. Re: DuPont's failure to subm it key health studies under the requirem e 8(e), 15 U.S.C. 2607(e). Dear Administrator Whitman: As your Agency moves forward with its assessm ent of public health ris the Teflon-associated chemical known as PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid C8), we write to notify you of apparent violations of reporting requirer Section 8(e) of the Toxic Substances Control Act ("TSCA"), 15 U.S.C. ! by a leading manufacturer and user of PFOA, DuPont, that may be hin assessment. We request that you investigate these potential violation: DuPont, and require full submission of the relevant studies to the publ allow for an accurate assessm ent of the health risks posed by this per: global pollutant that widely contaminates human blood. Given the nati seriousness of the omissions, we recommend that the Agency levy the allowable penalty under the law, a $25,000 fine per day to account for violations pursuant to 15 U.S.C 2615 (a). We also ask th at you inve: potential criminal violations for DuPont's knowing and willing failure to these studies, which would also subject the company to a maximum d $25,000. Id. at 2615 (b). In a 1981 internal com pany study (attached as Exhibit A) DuPont foun quantifiable levels of PFOA in um bilical cord blood from one baby, and of another baby, both of whom were born to women working in the co Teflon plant in Parkersburg, W est Virginia. This study provided evidenr PFOA crosses the placenta and exposes a fetus in utero, at a tim e whe had accumulated a significant body of knowledge on the toxicity of PF< The study documentation, made public through litigation, shows that I measured PFOA in the blood of eight pregnant women em ployed at thi for seven of these women recorded information on the baby's health a DuPont found quantifiable levels of PFOA in the blood of seven of eighl tested, at concentrations ranging up to 2.5 parts per million (ppm). Di PFOA in umbilical cord blood from one baby at a concentration of 0.05 in the blood of another baby at a concentration of 0.012 ppm. The stu documentation shows that two of seven women gave birth to babies w defects, one an "unconfirmed" eye and tear duct defect, and one a no: defect. That same year, DuPont reassigned 50 women at the plant to i PFOA exposure. We have thoroughly reviewed 8(e) submissions from l regarding PFOA, and find no record of this study in the Agency's files. TSCA requires that a company inform the Adm inistrator when it finds i "that reasonably supports the conclusion that such substance...presen substantial risk of injury to health." 15 U.S.C 2607(e). Given the uni susceptibility of a fetus to permanent health harm s from exposures to chemicals, the finding of an industrial chemical In um bilical cord blood qualifies as "information that reasonably supports the conclusion that substance...presents a substantial risk of injury to health..." and there trigger a submission of the study to EPA under the provisions of TSCA case of DuPont's 1981 blood study, however, the com pany also posse: tim e a significant body of knowledge on PFOA's toxicity th at further su what should have been a reasonable conclusion that the blood tests in substantial risk to health. According to a 1961 internal com pany m em orandum on the toxicity of related chemicals, another document made public through litigation, a toxicologist found that "C8 and C9 acids... have the ability to increase the liver of rats at low doses," and further recom m ends that "all of the m aterials...be handled with axtrem et^ re. CffiritaitfWjtb'the skin shoul< avoided" (DuPont 1961). Beftfriferf and its PFO/ http://ewg.org/issues/PFCs/20030411/letter.php 180 ON NIV1NOO 5/5/2003 I Environmental Working Group || Policy Memo: DuPont, Teflon, Water, Contamination,... Page 2 o f 2 (3M) conducted or sum m arized 32 additional PFOA toxicity studies in t monkeys, guinea pigs, rabbits, and mice (Bilott 2002). Among other studies that DuPont failed to subm it to EPA under requin law are the com pany's studies of PFOA contam ination in drinking wate in areas surrounding its Parkersburg, W est Virginia plant (see DuPont at EWG 2002). Upon inform ation and belief, DuPont's 1981 study of PI babies' blood, and their finding of PFOA contam ination in tap water, ar of the health and safety studies conducted by DuPont beginning at lea ago that the company failed to submit to EPA under the requirements Section 8(e). 15 U.S.C 2607(e). We appreciate your prompt attention to the concerns we raise in this I hope that the full record of PFOA's toxicity to humans will soon be ava public and Agency as you proceed with your assessm ent of human he< posed by the chemical. Sincerely, [signed] Kenneth A. Cook President, Environmental Working Group cc: Charles O. Holliday, Jr., Chairm an & CEO, DuPont Steve Johnson, EPA's Assistant Adm inistrator for Prevention, Pesticide Substances References Bilott, R. 2002. Letter from Robert A. Bilott of Taft, Stettinium , & Holli: IRIS Submission Desk. IRIS Submission Inventory for Perfluorooctano Am m onium Salt. April 12 2002. DuPont. 1961. Internal memo Re Toxicity of Teflon Dispersing Agent Environmental Working Group (EWG). 2002. DuPont Hid Teflon Polli Decades. Available online at http://www.ewa.orQ/policvmemo/20021113/20021213.php. Decembe Attachment Exhibit A. DuPont. 1981. Births and Pregnancies. (Documentation of D of PFOA in the blood of female em ployees and their babies.) Copyright 2003, Environmental Working Group. All Rights Reserved. Headquarters 1436 U St. N.W., Suite 100 | W ashington, DC 20009 || info@ewo.orQ California Office 1.904 Franklin St. Suite 703 | Oakland, CA 94612 || california@ewa.orQ http://ewg.org/issues/PFCs/2003041 l/letter.php 000382 5/5/2003