Steelworkers: DuPont's Contamination Puts People at Risk
Labor Desk
August 12, 2005
United Steelworkers: DuPont's C8 Contamination in Ohio Is Latest Example of Company Putting Workers, Community at Risk
The United Steelworkers (USW) released the following statement regarding C8 contamination of groundwater, air and river discharges at the DuPont Co.'s Circleville, Ohio, facility:
"After months of investigation, USW researchers have discovered that the DuPont Co. has contaminated the environment of yet another community with C8, a chemical labeled a 'likely human carcinogen' by a science advisory board of the U.S. government. We also applaud the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch newspaper for bringing this important information to light. The newspaper's findings are generally consistent with our own research.
The USW research once again raises further questions about DuPont's commitment to protecting community and worker health and safety. DuPont flaunts its commitment to environmental sustainability and worker safety, but the facts continue to show a company mired in hypocrisy, controversy and a possible cover-up.
By failing to inform Circleville local officials and the nearby residents in a timely fashion, DuPont has again placed a community, as well as workers exposed to this chemical, at risk. Furthermore, any decision by state and local authorities to rely on DuPont's testing to determine C8 levels in the air or water supply should be condemned. The true extent of the contamination will never be known without independent testing."
The Circleville, Ohio, revelations come on the heels of a similar USW investigation in Fayetteville, N.C., where the union discovered C8 -- perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as PFOA or APFO -- contaminated groundwater wells and river discharges. In North Carolina, blood tests conducted on some DuPont employees found elevated concentrations of C8.
USW research in Ohio and North Carolina are part of continuing environmental investigations in communities and workplaces where DuPont produces or uses C8. The USW represents more than 1,800 workers at DuPont plants -- many of whom are exposed to the suspected carcinogen. Tens of thousands of other workers in various manufacturing facilities may also be exposed, since the C8 chemical is used in a variety of industrial applications.
The USW will make summaries of its Circleville research available to interested media. The USW is the largest industrial union in North American, and has 850,000 members in the U.S. and Canada.
Source: United Steelworkers
The United Steelworkers (USW) released the following statement regarding C8 contamination of groundwater, air and river discharges at the DuPont Co.'s Circleville, Ohio, facility:
"After months of investigation, USW researchers have discovered that the DuPont Co. has contaminated the environment of yet another community with C8, a chemical labeled a 'likely human carcinogen' by a science advisory board of the U.S. government. We also applaud the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch newspaper for bringing this important information to light. The newspaper's findings are generally consistent with our own research.
The USW research once again raises further questions about DuPont's commitment to protecting community and worker health and safety. DuPont flaunts its commitment to environmental sustainability and worker safety, but the facts continue to show a company mired in hypocrisy, controversy and a possible cover-up.
By failing to inform Circleville local officials and the nearby residents in a timely fashion, DuPont has again placed a community, as well as workers exposed to this chemical, at risk. Furthermore, any decision by state and local authorities to rely on DuPont's testing to determine C8 levels in the air or water supply should be condemned. The true extent of the contamination will never be known without independent testing."
The Circleville, Ohio, revelations come on the heels of a similar USW investigation in Fayetteville, N.C., where the union discovered C8 -- perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as PFOA or APFO -- contaminated groundwater wells and river discharges. In North Carolina, blood tests conducted on some DuPont employees found elevated concentrations of C8.
USW research in Ohio and North Carolina are part of continuing environmental investigations in communities and workplaces where DuPont produces or uses C8. The USW represents more than 1,800 workers at DuPont plants -- many of whom are exposed to the suspected carcinogen. Tens of thousands of other workers in various manufacturing facilities may also be exposed, since the C8 chemical is used in a variety of industrial applications.
The USW will make summaries of its Circleville research available to interested media. The USW is the largest industrial union in North American, and has 850,000 members in the U.S. and Canada.
Source: United Steelworkers
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