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DUPONT SAYS $1 BILLION AT STAKE OVER C-8 - 60,000 Ohio Valley Residents Could Be Tested |
| (11/07/2005) |
| Well over 40,000 Ohio Valley residents have signed up for tests that could determine if a chemical used by DuPont (C-8 for Teflon), has affected their health. There are still about 26,000 on a waiting list, and up to 60,000 people could undergo the testing. Ted Johnson, who worked 35 years at DuPont's Washington Works plant, and believed what company officials said about the safety of the chemical, is not so sure now. Still, dozens of DuPont employees from Calhoun and the region have supported the company's position. Residents sued DuPont in 2001, claiming the chemical contaminated public and private water supplies. DuPont agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit over the chemical known as C-8 by funding medical tests of area residents and providing funds for the local water companies. The settlements have cost multi-millions, already. The chemical is still un-regulated. DuPont disclosed Friday that $1 billion a year in company revenues are at stake in the fight over potential regulation of the toxic chemical C8. DuPont disclosed the figure on Friday in its quarterly financial report, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It was the first time that DuPont has put a value on its use of the chemical ammonium perfluorooctanoate - C8. By contrast, DuPont reported total corporate income for C8 and non-C8 products in 2004 of $1.8 billion on $28 billion in revenues. DuPont says it makes about $200 million a year from products made with C8. Since at least 1951, DuPont has used C8 in Wood County. The suits have been fueled by internal DuPont documents uncovered by lawyers for Wood County residents. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has started a detailed study of C8 and sued DuPont for allegedly hiding information about C8's dangers. Criminal charges are also loitering. Wood County judge George Hill approved DuPont's payment of $107.6 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged the company poisoned thousands of residents' drinking water with C8. Millions of more dollars are at stake if health problems are linked to C8. A coalition of DuPont shareholders say the company has failed to keep them informed about the problems.
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