Environmental group: PFOA still present at DuPont, Chemours plants
Congress asking companies for information
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - A congressional committee is asking both DuPont and Chemours for information on the continued presence of PFOA at its plant sites in West Virginia and Ohio.
DuPont used PFOA, also known as C8, in the manufacture of Teflon at its Washington Works site in Wood County until 2015. That was just before the portion of the plant where the Teflon unit was based was sold to Chemours.
But the Environmental Working Group cites data from the EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance office indicating PFOA was still detected at the Wood County plant site and another plant in Circleville, Ohio.
The chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Environment, Harley Rouda, has sent a letter to both companies, asking for written and, on November 6, in-person testimony on their use, disposal and remediation efforts for C8/PFOA.
We reached out to both companies for comment. Chemours had this response, attributed to Director of Corporate Communications Thom Sueta:
“Chemours has never made or sold PFOA as a commercial product, or used PFOA as a processing aid. All Chemours-owned sites stopped using PFOA prior to our formation as an independent company in July 2015. We are reviewing the committee’s correspondence to better understand their request.”
DuPont spokesman Dan Turner had this response:
“In July 2015, DuPont separated its Performance Chemicals segment creating Chemours, now a fully independent performance chemical manufacturer. Chemours owns all sites that were part of the Performance Chemicals business, including Fayetteville, NC and Washington Works, WV.”
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