2004/7/26 日本経済新聞夕刊

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。フッ素加工のフライパンや衣類の保護仕上げなどに幅広く使われている。肝臓障害などを起こす可能性があるとして、規定値を超えて使った企業には報告義務がある。
　ＥＰＡによると、デュポンの米ウエストバージニア工場近くの水源で規定値を超えるＰＦＯＡが見つかり、工場に勤務していた妊婦からもＰＦＯＡが検出されたにもかかわらず、同社はＥＰＡへの報告を怠った。

July 8, 2004 EPA

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/

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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.

2003/12/8 E. I. du Pont

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®.
In fact, ABC "20/20" failed to provide any new information that would question the safety of Teflon® and Stainmaster®.
Evidence from 50 years of experience and extensive scientific studies supports the conclusion that Teflon® branded products and PFOA (also known as C-8, a compound used to produce fluoropolymers, some of which are sold under the Teflon® brand), do not cause any adverse human health effects. In addition:

For 201 years, DuPont has lived by a number of core values, including safety and high ethical standards. The company has been open and forthcoming about all aspects of the safety of PFOA and its use. We have consistently reported information to our employees, to government officials and to citizens of our plant communities. We adamantly deny any allegations that we have acted improperly or unethically.
DuPont remains fully committed to the safety of its operations and products. We recognize that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has questions about PFOA, largely based on the fact that the "general U.S. population may be exposed to very low levels of PFOA." We are working voluntarily with EPA and others to address these questions. We would support EPA regulations based on sound science, because this would confirm to consumers that the products they use are safe for human health and the environment.
It is important to note that while its review of PFOA is under way, the EPA has said there is no reason for consumers to stop using products.

We followed our practice of openness with the news media and provided "20/20" with access to our experts and facilities. We clearly stated our position and the facts on the safety of PFOA to Producer Rhonda Schwartz and Reporter Brian Ross on two separate occasions and provided supporting documentation. These facts were ignored.
We would like to share the facts on several other subjects discussed in the "20/20" segment:

Cookware Safety: Products sold under the Teflon® brand are safe for consumers to use.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reviewed the safety of cookware coated with DuPont^TM Teflon® non-stick coating. Our products were determined to be safe and have been approved for normal use in the kitchen. In addition, the U.S. EPA, as part of its investigation of PFOA, has said it "does not believe there is any reason for consumers to stop using any consumer or industrial related product."
In over 40 years of use, there have been billions of pots and pans sold around the world that are coated with DuPont^TM Teflon® non-stick coatings and we know of no serious chronic or acute health problems associated with their use. In conventional cooking situations, there is no coating degradation and therefore, no potential exposure to polymer fumes. At 500 degrees F, PTFE (non-stick coating for cookware) would not emit any material that could be harmful to human health. However, at this temperature, butter, oils and food will begin to break down.
DuPont is aware of only one published incident of a pan left unattended which resulted in a case of polymer fume fever in an individual. The effects were temporary. Information on proper use is available on www.teflon.com.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) submitted a petition to the CPSC asking the commission to enact a regulation requiring that cookware with non-stick coatings, including Teflon® coatings, "carry a label warning of the acute hazard the coating poses to pet birds and humans." On June 27, 2003, the commission's General Counsel declined to docket the petition, stating that EWG's submission "does not provide information that shows that these chemicals are released in amounts that would be expected during a consumer's use of the product and that these amounts would cause human illness or injury." EWG's request was denied. DuPont fully agrees with the commission's conclusions.
The claims made by the EWG are totally inconsistent with our experience and the experience of hundreds of millions of consumers around the world who use our products safely and consistent with conventional kitchen use on a daily basisー thus deriving the convenience and benefits provided by Teflon®.

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.
Telomers are applied at very low concentrations to consumer products such as carpet and apparel. Over 35 years of testing of our chemistry and the commercial products it is applied to, we have seen no safety concerns or health risks associated with our use of DuPont telomer chemistry. There are some data that suggest that trace amounts of PFOA may be detected in telomers.
Our studies indicate that PFOA is not easily absorbed through the skin. In fact, PFOA has one of the lowest skin absorption rates of any chemical that has been tested. Given the extremely low potential for exposure from carpet or apparel, combined with PFOA's low potential to be absorbed through the skin, there is no potential significant exposure to PFOA from carpet or textile products.
Consequently, we do not believe that contact with carpet or other textile products represents a safety concern to consumers. The U.S. EPA reached the same conclusion, stating that, as part of its investigation of PFOA, it "does not believe there is any reason for consumers to stop using any consumer or industrial related product."

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.
We are confident that PFOA does not cause birth defects.

In summary, DuPont's 201-year heritage is based on our core values of safety, health and environmental stewardship; high ethical standards; and a commitment to treat all people with respect. These values are foremost in everything we do as a company. They apply uniformly across all of our businesses everywhere we operate in the world. We are committed to these values, both now and in the future.

July 08, 2004 DuPont

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.

"DuPont has provided substantial information to EPA supporting our conclusion that we have followed the law," said DuPont General Counsel Stacey J. Mobley. "We will take action to respond to the Agency's complaint and will vigorously defend our position."

"This is not about the safety of our products," Mobley said. "It is about administrative reporting. Furthermore, we believe that a decision against DuPont in this matter would redefine TSCA and RCRA reporting requirements and would not prevail under the scrutiny of the courts."

Noting that EPA has not proposed a specific penalty at this time, the company said it will file a formal denial to the EPA complaint within 30 days.

DuPont asserts that there is no legal basis for the EPA's allegations. The company contends that it has fully complied with statutory reporting requirements and disputes any association between PFOA and harmful effects on human health or the environment.

In April 2003, when it announced its review of PFOA, the EPA stated that it does not believe there is any reason for consumers to stop using any consumer or industrial related products while its review is in progress. PFOA remains an unregulated compound.

"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.

DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by solving problems and creating solutions that make people's lives better, safer and easier. Operating in more than 70 countries, the company offers a wide range of products and services to markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel.