DEQ-CFW_00060947

C8 upgraded to 'likely carcinogen'
Subject: C8 upgraded to likely carcinogen'
From: susan massengale <[e-mail]>
Date: Wed, 29 Jun 2005 16:05:10 -0400
To: DWQ Clips <[e-mail]>
EPA draft report upgrades C8 to 'likely carcinogen'
Perfluorooctanoic acid -- a key component of DuPont Co.'s Teflon coating -- is a "likely carcinogen," according to a draft report by a U.S. EPA
advisory panel released yesterday. The chemical is known as C8 or PFOA.
The 17-member group is scheduled to meet July 6 to discuss the report before submitting it to the agency. Its current draft does not draw
conclusions about any cancer risk posed by the chemical, but it cites studies linking the substance to testicular, liver, pancreatic and breast
tumors in rats and mice (Ken Ward Jr., /Charleston [W.Va.] Gazette <http://wvgazette.com/section/News/other%20News/200506288>/.
"The available animal data indicate a carcinogenic potential for (the chemical] in humans," the draft reads. According to the document, the term
"likely carcinogen" "is typically applied to agents that have tested positive in more than one species, sex, strain, site or exposure route, with
or without evidence of carcinogenity in humans" (Jeff Montgomery, Wilmington (Del.] /News Journal/
<http•//Wwl,w delawareOnline com/apes/Pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050628/NEWS01/50628013>, June 28).
Research has suggested that the chemical does not biodegrade in the environment, instead accumulating in animals and perhaps humans. C8 also has
been linked with birth defects and liver damage.
EPA currently classifies C8 as a "suggested" carcinogen. A final determination by the agency's scientific advisory panel of C8's "likely"
carcinogen status could trigger a full-scale risk assessment by EPA (Tom Avril, /Philadelphia Inquirer
<http://,r4w.philly.com/mld/inguireriliving/health/12009020.htm>/, June 29).
In a statement yesterday, DuPont refuted the conclusions of the draft report. "The weight of evidence suggests that PFOA exposure does not cause
cancer in humans and does not pose a risk to the general public," the company said (Spencer Hunt, /Columbus Dispatch
<http•//w-w dispatch com/news-story php?story=dispatch/2005/06/29/20050629-A3-OO.html>/ [subscription required].
But Richard Wiles of the Environmental Working Group, which has urged EPA to regulate PFOA, disagreed. "What this report says is they need to
take action," he said. "At least we have a shot now at protecting public health" (Juliet Eilperin, /Washington Post
<hrtp•//w-w washingtonpost com/"p-dyn/content/article/2005/06/28/AR2005062801458.html>/, June 29).
3M Co., the original manufacturer of C8, began studying the effects of the chemical in the mid-1970s and found that it caused cancer in rats. 3M
stopped selling C8 in 2000.
DuPont, which began manufacturing the chemical after 3M ceased its production, was sued in 2001 by residents near the company's Parkersburg,
W.Va., plant over C8 concentrations in local water supplies. The lawsuit became national news when it helped unearth an internal DuPont study
showing that the company knew in 1981 that C8 was linked with birth defects. Under the terms of a settlement reached in February, the company
must pay as much as $340 million to state residents, including $70 million earmarked for a study of C8's effects on human health.
Earlier this month, Swedish officials said they would propose an international moratorium on the chemical through the United Nations, citing the
Stockholm Convention to eliminate persistent organic pollutants. The country also filed a national ban on C8 with the European Commission, which
is reviewing the legislation. The commission also is reviewing a similar ban by Britain (/Greenwire
<http•//.rww eenews net/Greenwire/searcharchive/test search -display cgi?q=&file=%2FGreenwire82FSearcharchive82FNewsline%2F2005%2FJunelS%2FO6l5O5l7,h
June 15). '-- LM*
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DEQ-CFW 00060947