Chemical Week
July 21,
2004/July 28, 2004
Action on
C-8 Prompts Safety Review in China
KARA SISSELL
EPA's assertion that DuPont did not submit key information on worker exposure to
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C-8, has prompted Chinese
authorities to investigate whether stores should be selling Teflon-coated
cookware in China. PFOA is used to manufacture fluoropolymers, including some
Teflon products. EPA says DuPont violated several laws by failing to report that
it observed PFOA in blood samples taken from pregnant workers at its Washington
Works, WV facility in 1981 (CW, July 14, p. 14). Environmental groups say
the reaction in China, an important market for chemical companies, is an example
of why firms should be more open about health risks in the U.S.
Chinese authorities in Beijing and Guangzhou say they will examine nonstick
cookware to determine if the chemical content poses an increased cancer risk.
"Any products that pose a threat to health will be removed from the shelves
immediately," says state-run news agency Xinhua. DuPont chairman and CEO Chad
Holliday told China's Communist Party newspaper Peoples Daily that the
disagreement between EPA and DuPont is not about the safety of its nonstick
coatings, but a dispute over their respective interpretations of EPA's reporting
requirements for health effects. "Our products are safe -- even EPA has
concluded that consumers should not stop using products because of concerns
about PFOA, and other U.S. agencies have reached similar conclusions," Holliday
says. He would not comment, however, on why China's reaction to the EPA ruling
was so strong. "I am not in a position to speculate on the reaction in China,"
Holliday says.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG; Washington) has lobbied EPA for years to
take action against DuPont for its handling of PFOA. "We are thrilled that China
is taking such a protective stance on this," EWG says. The reaction in China was
followed by report of a study on PFOA levels in South Koreans. The Korea
Times says the study found that South Korean women have 30 times the PFOA in
their bodies than reported in other countries.