The United States Environmental Protection Agency released a
draft assessment on January 12 stating that there is some evidence
that perfluorooctanioic acid (PFOA) -- a chemical used by US
chemical giant DuPont to make Teflon nonstick cookware and other
coatings -- is carcinogenic.
DuPont has about 20 wholly owned or joint venture operations in
China. It produces coatings for nonstick cookware at its Shenzhen
plant and automotive coatings at its Beijing and Changchun plants.
The State Environmental Protection Administration does not so far
have any comment on its US counterpart's findings.
Studies have linked PFOA to liver and testicular cancer in rats,
as well as to developmental defects and immunosuppression. In the
EPA's tests, the substance also showed up in the breast milk of
rats.
The EPA found that the chemical could raise levels of
cholesterol and fats called triglycerides in the human body, which
can increase the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke. A DuPont
study of workers exposed to the chemical arrived at the same
findings, although the company holds that the levels of PFOA to
which the general public is exposed pose no health risk.
While it is not warning consumers against using products made
with PFOA, the EPA says on its website that it is asking an outside
panel of experts to assess the risks further to "ensure the most
rigorous science is used in the agency's ongoing evaluation of
PFOA."
DuPont responded that it recognizes that the presence of PFOA in
human blood raises questions that should be addressed. However,
company spokesman R. Clifton Webb said, "DuPont remains confident
that based on over 50 years of use and experience with PFOA there
is no evidence to indicate that it harms human health or the
environment."
Researchers have found that although rats eliminate PFOA from
their bodies within days, the chemical accumulates in human blood
and can remain there for four years or more. In the early 1980s,
DuPont's studies showed that an employee had passed the chemical on
to her fetus.
PFOA is known to leach into soil and water, as water supplies
near US plants have been contaminated with high levels of the
chemical. However, it has also been found in areas and in animals
far from such plants, and scientists are not sure how it
travels.
Since the chemical is a processing aid, it is not expected to
appear in finished products. However, it is used to make hundreds
of industrial and consumer products, including soil- and
water-resistant coatings on textiles and carpets; as well as in the
automotive, mechanical, aerospace, chemical, electrical, medical
and construction industries; and in nonstick coatings on
cookware.
Some researchers believe that as Teflon products age, they
release chemicals that break down into PFOA. DuPont says that
extensive testing shows this not to be the case.
In October last year, the newly established Chinese Academy of
Inspection and Quarantine sampled 28 different Teflon-coated pans
from 18 manufacturers -- about 90 percent of those sold in the
domestic market -- and found they showed no traces of PFOA.
In September 2004, DuPont and residents of an area near a US
Teflon-making plant reached a preliminary out-of-court settlement
concerning complaints that PFOA contaminated private wells and
water sources in West Virginia and Ohio. DuPont has agreed to pay
as much as US$343 million to settle those claims.
In a separate investigation, the US EPA is alleging that for
decades DuPont withheld information concerning the potential risk
PFOA poses to human health and the environment. At an EPA
administrative court hearing last month, DuPont aggressively
contested the allegation, saying that it had no obligation to
provide the information. If it is found to have acted wrongfully,
DuPont may be ordered to pay fines of up to US$300 million.
(China.org.cn January 20, 2005)