Groups again claim pollution at Spruance

There are more than 7 million PFAS and over 21 million fluorinated compounds listed in PubChem (2023).
Post Reply
pfpcnews
Posts: 997
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2006 5:50 am

Groups again claim pollution at Spruance

Post by pfpcnews »

Groups again claim pollution at Spruance

Sierra Club, Steelworkers avow they found PFOA; DEQ says that's expected

BY JOHN REID BLACKWELL
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Jul 7, 2006

An environmental group and a labor union claimed yesterday to have found more evidence of pollution in surface water around a DuPont plant in Chesterfield County.

A state official downplayed the claims.

The Sierra Club of Virginia and the United Steelworkers union said a water sample they took from Grindall Creek southwest of DuPont's Spruance plant contained trace amounts of a chemical known as PFOA.

In April, the groups said a sample they took from a discharge site into the James River to the east of the plant contained the chemical.

PFOA, short for perfluorooctanoic acid, is used in the production process for Teflon, an ingredient in nonstick cookware and all-weather clothing. PFOA was not made at Spruance, and DuPont says only very small amounts were present in the Teflon unit that operated at the site from 1953 to 2004.

The Environmental Protection Agency has not set standards for acceptable levels of PFOA in water. Its health impact is disputed, but an EPA science advisory board has called it a likely carcinogen.

In a statement yesterday, DuPont said it believes the weight of evidence indicates PFOA is not a health risk to the general public.

"One thing to bear in mind is the [PFOA] levels they are finding are really quite low, and not unexpected," said Gerard Seeley Jr., regional director for the Department of Environmental Quality, referring to the water samples collected by the union and the Sierra Club.

"In fact, one thing we have learned in our research on PFOA is you would expect to find it in almost any surface water."

In December, DuPont agreed to pay a $10.25 million penalty to the EPA for allegedly withholding information about the potential risks of PFOA after it was found in groundwater around a Parkersburg, W.Va., plant.

As a result of the Sierra Club and union's claims, the company has submitted a plan to the DEQ and the EPA to sample ground and surface water around the Spruance plant.

Spokesmen for the Sierra Club and two unions representing DuPont workers called that plan inadequate and said state officials are not moving fast enough to address their concerns.

"We are a little disturbed that they are sitting on their hands," said Jay Palmore, president of the Ampthill Rayon Workers Inc., a union that represents about 1,200 local DuPont employees.

"They are supposed to be looking out for the workers and the community, and I personally don't feel that they have done that."

Seeley said the state environmental agency "is moving at an appropriate speed for the information that we have." He said the department has found nothing to indicate an emergency situation at the DuPont site.

The Steelworkers union and the Sierra Club said their water samples taken from Grindall Creek showed levels of PFOA at less than 1 part per billion, as well as trace amounts of 11 other perflouronated chemicals. The sample taken in March from a creek to the east of the plant showed PFOA levels at about 7 parts per billion, while a sample taken in May indicated levels of about 4 parts per billion.

DuPont, which employs about 2,900 people locally, has suggested that the Steelworkers union is pressuring the company to win better labor-contract terms.

"We've been a part of this community for 77 years and take our environmental responsibility and our obligations to our community very seriously," Spruance plant manager Rick Hodge said in a statement. "We believe that people recognize this fact."
Post Reply