Chemical giant DuPont knowingly exposed workers and the public to the dangerous chemical C8 for decades, despite internal studies indicating its harmful effects. DuPont’s own medical team had linked C8 exposure to birth defects as early as 1961, yet the company continued to use it in the production of Teflon until 2013. DuPont also dumped C8 into the Ohio River, causing widespread contamination.
The company’s deception was revealed through a series of lawsuits, which also exposed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) failure to regulate the chemical industry effectively. Despite DuPont agreeing to phase out C8 in 2005, it replaced it with a similar compound, GenX, which is also linked to health problems.
The EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has not been effective in preventing such incidents, with only five out of 62,000 chemicals banned since 1976. The DuPont case highlights the urgent need for reform in the way chemical safety is regulated in the U.S., with the burden of proof lying on the companies to demonstrate safety, rather than on the public to prove harm.
Go to source article: https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/08/11/dupont-chemistry-deception/