The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection
and Quarantine (QSIQ) will test Teflon, a product widely used on
cookware, in the wake of reports from the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) that it may pose health hazards.
The EPA announced on July 8 that it would take administrative
action against DuPont for multiple failures to report information
about substantial risk of injury to human health or the environment
from the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, or C8). PFOA is an
essential component in the manufacture of fluoropolymers, which are
used in a wide variety of consumer and industrial applications,
including non-stick surfaces on cookware, and coatings for
automobiles and aircraft.
Finished products are not expected to contain PFOA. Allegations
of health risks in the US have stemmed from individuals and
communities around production sites.
“We will start tests soon because China is a huge market for the
multinational,” said a press officer with QSIQ.
A public relations official from DuPont China said the company
will cooperate with Chinese authorities and make available any
necessary documents. She also indicated that DuPont is not the only
company using the chemical in question.
The EPA found DuPont had failed to provide the results of its
own tests and all of the toxicological data it had gathered on the
chemical after a 1997 request from the agency.
It said that DuPont had conducted tests that showed PFOA was
transmitted to the fetuses of eight pregnant women who worked in or
near a company plant. One of the infants had a confirmed birth
defect, and another had an unconfirmed birth defect. Additionally,
traces of the chemical have been found in public drinking water in
communities near DuPont facilities. Individual and class action
lawsuits have been filed against the company alleging personal and
property damage resulting from the contamination.
The US agency requires chemical makers to notify it of any
information showing that a chemical poses substantial risk to
health and the environment.
DuPont argues that it has fully complied with statutory
reporting requirements and disputes any association between PFOA
and harmful effects on human health. The company plans to file a
formal denial within 30 days.
“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.” Mobley
insisted that the EPA’s allegation is “not about the safety of our
products, but about administrative reporting.”
Studies have shown that PFOA builds up in human blood, does not
break down in the environment and may cause such health problems as
liver damage, reproductive and developmental defects and
cancer.
US company 3M, which was a major producer of PFOA, announced in
2000 that it would stop making the chemical.
DuPont has nearly 20 wholly owned or joint venture operations in
China.
(China.org.cn, China Daily July 13, 2004)