DuPont, EPA settle on Teflon chemical

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency reached a $16.5 million settlement with DuPont Wednesday over the company's failure to report possible health risks associated with a chemical used to make Teflon.

The fine, the largest civil administrative penalty the agency has ever obtained, includes a $10.25 million penalty and a pledge by DuPont to spend $6.25 million on environmental projects.

The agreement ends the EPA's push to hold DuPont accountable for not turning over evidence to the government from as early as 1981 about perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

That evidence documented that the compound, which is used to produce nonstick and stain-resistant materials, could be transferred from a woman to her baby via the placenta. Other studies showed rats dying after inhaling the chemical.

PFOA has been found in the blood of 95 percent of Americans tested. It persists in the environment indefinitely and migrates long distances in the air. Researchers have found it in the blood of polar bears near the North Pole.

The EPA is considering whether PFOA is a health risk to humans and should be regulated. The chemical has been linked to cancer and possible birth defects in animals, and the agency's scientific advisory board is to announce soon whether it considers it a possible or likely human carcinogen.

"This settlement sends a strong message that companies are responsible for promptly informing EPA about risk information associated with their chemicals," said Granta Nakayama, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

DuPont officials, who did not admit legal liability as part of the agreement, said they did not deliberately withhold information from the government and settled only to avoid a long and costly court battle.

"The fact of the matter is we could have litigated this, and some of my staff thought we should do that because we did nothing wrong," said Stacey Mobley, DuPont's senior vice president and general counsel. "We decided to put this matter behind us and move on."

Material from the Los Angeles Times is included in this report.