C8 Medical Monitoring an Epic Fail

DuPont has paid out $9 million for the Medical Monitoring Program so far, yet only $50,233.26 of that was spend on screening residents who may be sickened by water supplies that were polluted for decades by C8 or PFOA.  The industrial solvent was used at DuPont Washington Works near Parkersburg, WV in the production of Teflon and other applications as far back as the 1950’s.

As the result of a class action lawsuit agreement, which scientifically linked C8 exposure to kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis, high cholesterol, and pre-eclampsia, DuPont has agreed to provide community members with a medical monitoring program worth $235 million. However, it appears that participation is very low.  

This week the group calling themselves “Keep Your Promises DuPont” released a series of invoices DuPont has paid out to administrator Michael Rozen. The disparity has Dr. Paul Brooks, one of the original administrators of the C8 Health Project responsible for collecting the medical data and blood serum of 70,000 community members, questioning the effectiveness of the monitoring program.

Michael Rozen’s firm, Feinberg Rozen, has been complicit in industrial misrepresentation before.  In February 2011, a US District Judge ordered Rozen’s partner to stop representing himself to claimants of the BP Deepwater Horizon Victim Compensation Fund as a neutral party when he was in fact an attorney representing BP.  (River City)

EPA Proposes C8/PFOA Restrictions

The US Environmental Protection Agency today proposed a Significant New Use Rule for several perfluoronated chemicals, including C8 or PFOA, in anticipation of a voluntary 2015 phase-out deadline.

It’s the manmade substance at the heart of a massive class action lawsuit in the Mid-Ohio Valley. DuPont has been using the chemical compound at Washington Works since the 1950’s incidentally contaminating the water, air and soil around the plant.

More than 150 alternatives have been developed for several global companies as they work to meet the EPA’s voluntary goal, including DuPont.

This proposal would require that anyone who intends to import these chemicals for any new use submit a notification to EPA at least 90 days before beginning the activity. The notice provides an opportunity for the agency to review or potentially prohibit the activity before it enters the marketplace.

The EPA reports that the agency’s action has resulted in a 41 percent reduction in human blood-levels nationwide.

DuPont Sends Mixed Messages

Just as a grassroots effort was launching to hold DuPont accountable for commitments made in a 2005 class action lawsuit settlement agreement, the company released seemingly conflicting information about the future of the spin-off scheduled to take over the controversial fluorochemical operation at DuPont Washington Works.

The Delaware News Journal reported that DuPont is looking to shed millions of dollars in current and future environmental remediation baggage, including C8 cleanup costs. DuPont is creating a new company “Chemours” to take over the operations and the mounting environmental liabilities of three of its most volatile units including the fluorochemical unit at DuPont Washington Works.

At the same time, Robin Ollis-Stemple, DuPont’s regional public affairs manager, issued a statement to the local media saying that DuPont has consistently met its obligations from the C8 settlement and will continue to do so.

The statement said "Several years ago, DuPont, working together with the local community, funded a comprehensive study to evaluate whether any probable links exist between a material no longer used in operation of our Washington Works facility and any disease. We also committed to provide water filtration systems for six area water districts and fund a medical monitoring program for local residents." 

Despite the claim, there is clear evidence DuPont intends to shirk the responsibility of maintaining community filtration systems and leave the ongoing costs of the court-mandated cleanup to Chemours.

On December 2, Andrew Harten of DuPont sent a letter to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency stating the company’s intention to transfer the ownership and operation of the Little Hocking Water Association GAC treatment site from DuPont to Chemours on July 1, 2015.

Under the terms of the initial settlement, DuPont agreed to pay for the construction and ongoing expenses of the filtration treatment plants infinitely if exposure could be scientifically linked to human disease. As the result of a massive health study involving 70,000 Mid-Ohio Valley residents, the C8 Science Panel determined a probable link exists between C8 exposure and pre-eclampsia, high cholesterol, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis, and kidney and testicular cancer. (www.RiverCityNewsNetwork.com)

C8 – It’s Not Over

An organization is launching an effort to hold DuPont accountable for commitments made to Mid-Ohio Valley residents whose water was contaminated with C8 as a result of industrial processes at DuPont Washington Works.

A 2005 class action settlement spells out the company’s agreement to address the contamination of six local communities. However, Keep Your Promises DuPont says the company is falling short.

The group is demanding that the company appropriately compensate those who are sick from C8 exposure, effectively administer medical monitoring for the impacted class and ensure that the water is safe to drink. The non-profit organization is a partnership between the Action Network Fund and local residents. (River City News Network)