HomeMy WebLinkAboutDEQ-CFW_00061676PRNewswire: The N.C. C8 Working Group Calls for Investigation of Water Contamination at DuPont
PRNewswire: The N.C. C8 Working Group Calls for Investigation of Water Contamination at
DuPont Fayetteville Works
The N.C. C8 Working Group Calls for Investigation of Water Contamination at DuPont Fayetteville Works
'Likely human carcinogen' found in groundwater and discharges to the Cape Fear River
RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- A coalition of public interest and
environmental organizations is calling for an immediate state investigation
into how C8, a likely human carcinogen manufactured by the DuPont Co.,
contaminated groundwater wells and surface waters in Fayetteville.
The DuPont Co. discovered in January 2003 that the controversial chemical
C8, used to make Teflon and other widely used consumer products, has been
found in groundwater wells at its Fayetteville Works facility, and was present
in discharges to the Cape Fear River.(1) C8 is the same chemical that
contaminated public water supplies in West Virginia and led to a class-action
lawsuit involving more than 50,000 people.
Though the company knew about the contamination in Fayetteville for
several years, North Carolinians did not learn of the C8 found in ground and
surface water until a United Steelworkers (USW) investigation into the
discharges surfaced in May. And despite the discovery, the DuPont Co. was
allowed to conduct its own monitoring of the discharges - with no oversight
from state or federal officials(2).
As a result, several of North Carolina's leading public interest
organizations - including Clean Water for North Carolina, the Waterkeeper
Alliance, the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Project, and Cape
Fear River Watch Inc. - formed "The North Carolina C8 Working Group" to ask
state Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) officials to
act quickly to address public health and safety concerns.
"The delay in taking action is outrageous. C8 is a dangerous chemical -
under no circumstances should it have been discharged to the river," said Rick
Dove, the Waterkeeper Alliance's southeastern representative. "The Waterkeeper
Alliance will consider taking whatever action is necessary if the state and
DuPont fail to immediately disclose and mediate the C8 contamination."
Hope Taylor -Guevara, executive director of Clean Water for N.C., said,
"Failure to protect the public and worker health is what results when we allow
companies to carry out voluntary investigations and reporting, rather than
holding them publicly accountable, with oversight from environmental and
occupational safety officials."
DuPont's Fayetteville facility is the only plant in the country that
manufactures C8, which is also known as ammonium perfluorooctanoate (APFO) or
PFOA. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Scientific Advisory Board
recently identified the chemical as "a likely human carcinogen."(3)
A year ago, the federal government began investigating allegations the
company knew of and concealed information about the potential harmful effects
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of C8 for years. 1n 2004, DuPont settled a West Virginia lawsuit for up to
$342 million in C8 cleanup and monitoring costs. That case was brought by
50,000 residents whose drinking water was contaminated with C8. Lawyers
involved in the West Virginia suit were recently named 2005 Trial Lawyers of
the Year by Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (TLPJ). TLPJ is a national
public interest law firm which routinely represents individuals and
communities in environmental and consumer protection cases. Salisbury, N.C.,
attorney Mona Wallace of the firm Wallace and Graham, North Carolina
coordinator the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, called the West Virginia
case "a victory for public health." She said that "Fayetteville residents and
workers must be protected as well."
Amy Kaufman, executive director of the North Carolina Occupational Safety
and Health Project, said a federal regulatory agency should undertake a formal
health evaluation of the plant's C8 workplace.
"DuPont has done a great injustice to workers at this plant. The
Fayetteville plant should open its doors to an independent health hazard
evaluation in order to both fully understand the facilities occupational
environment and to address the potential effect on the health of its workers,"
Kaufman said.
In Fayetteville, some DuPont employees participate in a voluntary blood
monitoring program.(4) The C8 Working Group has learned that the chemical has
been measured in the blood of some employees at levels as high as 2,000 parts-
per-billion.(5) That is thousands of times higher than that "Community
Exposure Guidelines" level of one part per -billion originally established by
DuPont.(6)
"DuPont is violating almost every aspect of its own "Biopersistent
Materials" policy, from the handling of toxic manufacturing materials to open
communication about this toxic and everlasting compound, C8, in ground and
surface water, and the blood of its workers," said Taylor -Guevara.
The North Carolina C8 Working Group has identified a series of requested
actions by DENR officials. Those requests include:
* Launch an immediate investigation into the cause and extent of C8
contamination at the Fayetteville facility, with regulatory oversight by DENR.
* Top DENR officials meet with representatives of the N.C. C8 Working
Group, and other interested parties, to discuss public and worker health and
safety concerns.
* Improved monitoring of C8 water discharges and begin monitoring air
discharges of C8 at the Fayetteville facility.
* Urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the
possibility that unauthorized discharges of wastewater from the Fayetteville
facility contributed to C8 contamination of groundwater and discharges to the
Cape Fear River.
* Make all reports and documents regarding environmental testing and
summary information on blood testing of employees available to the public. --
(1) Nomee Landis and Michael Wagner. Fayetteville Observer. "DuPont
monitors chemical pollution" May 26, 2005
(2) Larry Stanley, hydrogeologist, N.C. Department of Environmental and
Natural Resources, Hazardous Waste Section. January 13, 2004, letter to DuPont
Co. regarding C8 contamination.
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(3) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Science Advisory Board "Draft
Risk Assessment." June 27, 2005.
(4) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 'Biennial Report for Manufacture
of APFO, Calendar Year 2002-2003, DuPont Co. Fayetteville Works" EPA Docket
No. AR 226-1876.
(5)[bid.
(6) U.S. EPA Docket No. TSCA-HQ-2004-0016, re:Community Exposure
Guidelines
SOURCE PACE
Web Site: http://www.paceunion.org
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