テフロン 「有害物質使用」で対立 デュポン、米環境保護局と
米化学大手デュポンがテフロン製造に用いる化学物質の人体への有害性を巡り、米環境保護局（ＥＰＡ）と対立している。ＥＰＡはデュポンが２０年にわたって有害物質の使用を公開しなかったとして最高２億ドル（約２２０億円）の罰金を科すと発表。デュポン側は「無害」を主張し正式に異議を唱える予定だ。
問題の物質は「プルフ一ルオロオクタン酸」（ＰＦＯＡ）で、フッ化ポリマー製造過程で用いる。
EPA
Press Advisory: EPA Takes Enforcement Action Against DuPont For
Toxic Substances Reporting Violations
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/b1ab9f485b098972852562e7004dc686/afdc5785fd9ee05585256ecb00522cee?OpenDocument
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance
Assurance (OECA) is taking an administrative action against E. I.
DuPont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) for two violations of the
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and one violation of the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These violations
consist of multiple failures to report information to
EPA about substantial risk of injury to human health
or the environment from a chemical during a period
beginning in June of 1981 through March of 2001. Companies are
required by TSCA to report such information immediately. EPA has
the authority to seek a penalty of $25,000 per day for violations
occurring before January 30, 1997, and up to $27,500 per day for
violations occurring thereafter, for each day that DuPont failed
to report the information. EPA alleges that DuPont did not submit
to the Agency information the company had obtained regarding the
synthetic chemical Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA). PFOA is used in
the manufacturing process for fluoropolymers, including some
TeflonR products, at DuPont’s Washington
Works facility in Washington, West Virginia.
In 1981, the company observed PFOA in blood samples taken from
pregnant workers at the Washington Works facility and at least
one woman had transferred the chemical to her fetus. DuPont detected
the chemical in public water supplies as early as the mid-1980s
in West Virginia and Ohio communities in the vicinity of the
Washington Works facility. By 1991 DuPont had information that
the chemical was in water supplies at a greater level than the
company’s exposure
guidlelines indicated would be without any effect to members of
the community. In 1997, DuPont failed to provide EPA with all
toxicological information the company had regarding PFOA, despite an EPA
request for such information under the terms of an EPA-issued
RCRA permit. An attorney working on a class action suit on behalf
of citizens in Ohio and West Virginia brought this information to
the EPA in 2001.
The information that DuPont had obtained about PFOA was, and
continues to be, pertinent to the Agency's ongoing work to better
understand PFOA. Since April 2003, EPA has been working
cooperatively with DuPont, 3M, other companies, and interested
parties to develop the information necessary to better understand
the sources and exposure pathways of PFOA. This public effort
will lead to the development of information that will assist the
Agency in determining what voluntary or regulatory actions, if
any, would be appropriate to protect human health and
environment. This rigorous scientific review will ensure that any
future regulatory action on PFOA is protective of public health
and supported by the best scientific information. EPA is working
to complete a revised risk assessment, which will be released in
Fall 2004 for public peer review by the Agency’s Science Advisory Board. To learn more
about the Agency’s ongoing
evaluation of PFOA visit: http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/pfoa/
Upcoming PFOA ECA Meetings
http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/pfoa/
On April 14, 2003, Stephen L. Johnson, Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances, signed a Notice for publication in the Federal Register on perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and fluorinated telomers. With this Notice, EPA is releasing a preliminary risk assessment on PFOA, and is starting a public process to identify and generate additional information to strengthen the risk assessment. EPA is also inviting interested parties to monitor or participate in negotiations on one or more enforceable consent agreements (ECAs) to obtain additional data concerning PFOA and fluorinated telomers which may metabolize or degrade to PFOA. Comments on the Notice and notification by persons who wish to be considered interested parties for the purpose of the ECA negotiations will be on or before May 16, 2003.
DuPont Statement on ABC
"20/20" Segment on Teflon®
ＴＶ番組に対する反論
Instead of relying on the
well-documented facts and the science regarding the safety of
Teflon® branded products, ABC has chosen to
accept on face value certain allegations and draw inappropriate
inferences from documents and events that are unrelated to the
safety of Teflon®.
Cookware Safety: Products sold under the Teflon® brand are safe
for consumers to use.
Teflon® Stain-Resist Textiles and
Stainmaster® Carpet: PFOA is not used
to make Stainmaster® carpet or Teflon® stain-resistant textiles, nor is PFOA
used to make telomers, the ingredient to make soil, stain and
grease repellants for paper, apparel, upholstery and carpets.
Reporting Birth Defects: There is no scientific
basis to support the claims of two former DuPont employees that
the birth defects of their children were related to PFOA. Our conclusions are supported by
extensive scientific and toxicological studies. In addition, a 3M
study monitoring pregnant employees exposed to PFOA found no
association between PFOA and birth defects.
DuPont Responds
to EPA Complaint, Denies Allegations
Company asserts it has complied with all laws and regulations
with respect to PFOA; will vigorously defend its position
http://www1.dupont.com/NASApp/dupontglobal/corp/index.jsp?page=/content/US/en_US/news/releases/2004/nr07_08_04a.html
DuPont today said
that it will file a formal denial to a complaint issued by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alleging that the
company failed to comply with the technical reporting
requirements of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the
Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) regarding PFOA. PFOA is
an essential processing aid used to produce fluoropolymers.
"The evidence from over 50 years of experience and extensive
scientific studies supports our conclusion that PFOA does not harm human
health or the environment," Mobley said.