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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。


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

EPAs 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 DuPonts 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 companys 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 Agencys 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.

 


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®.

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.


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.


"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.