Chemical Giant DuPont Knowingly Poisoned A Whole Town For Decades

Large chemical manufacturer DuPont in Delaware, U.S is now in the spotlight for knowingly poisoning a whole town for decades up until 2014 with the cancer causing (PFC’s) perfluorinated chemical called C-8, (also known as PFOA) that was used in the manufacture of Teflon.

Teflon is largely used to give cookware a non-stick surface, in some food packaging, various electronic components and water proofing products.

DuPont knew the highly toxic C-8 chemical was carcinogenic from their own animal testing data, and hid this information from regulators and the public.

They also ignored instructions from the C8 manufacturer 3M, to dispose of the C8 properly in an incinerator, or a sealed hazardous waste facility, and by no means to dispose it into surface water.

Instead, DuPont discharged this hazardous chemical into the Ohio river, knowing it would flow into public drinking water, and cause Birth defects, Ulcerative Colitis,Thyroid Disease, Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (including preeclampsia), Hypercholesterolemia, Various cancers and death to thousands of people in surrounding towns.

NOTE: 3M made C-8 before phasing it out in 2000. At that point DuPont began making its own.

C8 is Bio persistent, which means it sticks to your blood. It does NOT flush out of the body through urine or feaces. It stays in the body for up to 25 years, causing various health issues.

DuPont agreed to phase out the use of C-8 in 2015. The EWG ‘Poisoned Legacy Report’ states – PFOA is no longer in used in the United States by the end of 2015, but DuPont and other companies are using related chemicals that may not be much safer.

These next-generation PFCs are used in greaseproof food wrappers, waterproof clothing and other products. Few have been adequately studied for safety, and chemical companies hide critical information about most of them as trade secrets.