Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO – DuPont will pay a record $10.25 million fine for failing to tell the Environmental Protection Agency what the company knew about a chemical used to make Teflon, including studies that found the substance in human blood and say it should be considered “extremely toxic.”

Federal regulators hope the legal settlement will help solve an environmental mystery that has baffled researchers. Perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, is turning up throughout the world, from polar bears near the Arctic Circle to toddlers in American cities. But nobody is sure why.

Until recently, very little has been known about PFOA and related chemicals outside of DuPont and a handful of other companies, even though the chemicals have been used for more than 50 years to make nonstick cookware, grease-resistant food wrappers, rain-repellent clothing and hundreds of other products.

What regulators are slowly learning about years of industry research is alarming them.

Among other things, the chemical builds up in blood and takes years to leave the body. Some research has suggested PFOA could cause developmental problems, and an EPA board is expected to decide soon whether the chemical should be classified as a “likely human carcinogen.”

As part of the settlement, which includes the largest civil administrative penalty in EPA history, DuPont will spend $5 million to study Teflon-related chemicals in grease- and stain-resistant coatings for carpets, clothing and food wrappers.

The EPA’s settlement with DuPont, announced Wednesday, involves a series of company studies the government says should have been disclosed under federal law.

In an eight-count complaint, the agency accused DuPont of failing to submit a 1981 study that revealed PFOA was passed from pregnant employees to their fetuses. Two of five babies born to Teflon plant employees that year had eye and face defects similar to those found in newborn rats exposed to the chemical, according to company records.

The EPA says DuPont also withheld three 1997 studies that found rats died from inhaling chemicals related to PFOA, and more recent findings that high levels of the chemical were in the blood of people living near the West Virginia plant where Teflon is made.

DuPont could have faced more than $300 million in fines – about $100 million more than the company is estimated to make each year from products manufactured with PFOA.

The government agreed to settle for $10.25 million in fines and $6.25 million in environmental projects after months of negotiations. EPA officials said limits in federal law made it doubtful they could have won larger fines for violations dating back more than 20 years.

“This sends a strong message that companies are responsible for promptly giving EPA risk information associated with their chemicals,” said Granta Nakayama, the assistant EPA administrator for enforcement and compliance.

As part of the settlement, which still includes the largest civil administrative penalty in EPA history, DuPont will spend $5 million to study Teflon-related chemicals in grease- and stain-resistant coatings for carpets, clothing and food wrappers.

Research suggests the chemicals, known as fluorinated telomers, could be a major source of exposure to PFOA. The chemicals are thought to break down to PFOA in the human body and the environment.

DuPont says there are only trace amounts of the chemical in nonstick cookware. Based on studies of its workers, the company maintains there is no evidence that PFOA is a human health risk.

Company officials also said they are reducing emissions of PFOA from the Teflon plant and conducting several studies to ensure products made with related chemicals are safe.

“Frankly, we could have litigated this thing for several years,” Stacey Mobley, DuPont’s general counsel, said of the EPA settlement. “We wanted to get this thing behind us so we could move forward.”

Many of the DuPont records now coming to the attention of regulators were obtained by lawyers representing thousands of West Virginians and Ohioans who live near the company’s Teflon plant.

The company already has agreed to pay at least $107 million to settle the class-action lawsuit. A criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department is continuing.

Meanwhile, the EPA’s ongoing review of health risks eventually could lead to rules that limit or phase out the use of PFOA.

“This is just the beginning,” said Tim Kropp, senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research organization. “Paying a fine doesn’t get the chemical out of people’s blood.”