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 Carla Marie Bartlett is among the approximately 3,500 plaintiffs who
have sued DuPont in federal court in Ohio, saying they contracted
one of six diseases linked to perfluorooctanoic acid, known as PFOA
or C-8. Bartlett said she developed kidney cancer from contaminated
water.
Bartlett's will be the first case to go to trial, in an early test
of potential liability for the allegedly decades-long leak. A second
trial will start Nov. 30.
While DuPont is the named defendant, a recent spin-off of its
performance chemicals segment, Chemours Co, will cover Dupont's
potential liability, according to a Chemours spokeswoman.
The lawsuits center on DuPont’s Washington Works plant in
Parkersburg, West Virginia, where the company used C-8 as a
processing aid to make products like Teflon non-stick cookware.
Plaintiffs say DuPont used C-8 at the plant since the 1950s and
continued even after learning that it was potentially toxic and that
it had been discovered in nearby drinking water supplies in Ohio and
West Virginia.
DuPont spokesman Daniel Turner said in a statement that knowledge
about C-8 has evolved over the past 15 years and that the company
has worked with regulators, employees and nearby residents to assess
and address health and safety concerns. The company said it has
phased out use of C-8 in recent years.
In 2001, residents brought a class action against DuPont over C-8
exposure. DuPont settled in 2004, agreeing to fund medical
monitoring programs and install new water treatment systems. It also
agreed to convene a panel of scientists to determine whether any
diseases were linked to C-8.
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That panel concluded there was a probable link between C-8 and six
diseases: kidney and testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid
disease, pregnancy-induced hypertension and high cholesterol.
Class members with one of those diseases then individually sued
DuPont. The company agreed not to challenge whether C-8 can cause
those diseases, but plaintiffs still must prove it is to blame for
their individual illnesses.
DuPont said it believes Bartlett’s exposure to C-8 was insufficient
to cause health problems, and that other factors, like obesity, may
be to blame for her cancer.
A lawyer for Bartlett did not return requests for comment.
(Reporting by Jessica Dye; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Leslie
Adler)
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