Trouble finds DuPont's Teflon non-stick coating (again), as tens
of thousands of Ohio and West Virginia residents will have their
tap water tested over the next 12 months to determine if their health
has been compromised by drinking water contaminated with a chemical
used to make the coating known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
Aside from cookware, Teflon can be found in everything from clothing
to car parts and flooring.
Tests will be administered on as many as 80,000 residents who receive
their tap water from six public water districts or private wells
where PFOA has been found near DuPont's Washington Works plant along
the Ohio River near Parkersburg.
And in addition to knowing whether their water is contaminated
with the chemical, residents will also receive $150 to answer a
health questionnaire; and if they agree to submit a blood sample,
an additional $250. The blood sample will be subjected to 51 blood
tests that check for cancer markers, organ functioning and the presence
of PFOA.
However, only residents who received the water for at least a year
before December 3, 2004 will be eligible to participate in the testing.
DuPont Fits the Bill
DuPont agreed to pay for the screenings to settle a 2001 class-action
lawsuit filed by residents who claimed the company intentionally
hid and misrepresented information concerning the nature and extent
of the human threat posed by PFOA in drinking water.
Costs include:
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About $70 million for resident payments and lab work.
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An estimated cost of $10 million to provide the six water utilities
with new treatment equipment to reduce the chemical in water
supplies.
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And, based on the findings, another $235 billion to monitor
the residents' health.
The goal is to complete all testing in a year and hand it over
to a panel of court-approved epidemiologists for their review.
MSNBC
July 8, 2005
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