U.S. Water News Online
MARIETTA, Ohio -- Bottled water provided to about 1,000 southeast Ohioans whose tap water contained a chemical used to make Teflon has tested positive for trace amounts of the same substance, the water company said.
DuPont Co., based in Wilmington, Del., agreed to pay for bottled water until it installs filters to remove the chemical at well water treatment plants to settle a 2001 class action lawsuit. Ohio and West Virginia residents who sued DuPont claimed the company intentionally withheld and misrepresented information about the human health threat posed by perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts, known as C8.
The chemical was found in the bottled water when the Little Hocking Water Association tested it to check the accuracy of its C8 testing methods, said David Altman, an attorney for the water association.
Marietta-based Crystal Spring Water confirmed the chemical was in its bottled water with two of its own tests after it learned about the water association's findings, owner Gary Matheny said. Crystal Spring is one of three companies DuPont is paying to provide water until the filters are installed.
Crystal Spring is supplying the 1,000 people treated water and is installing a filter to remove C8 from the nearby spring it uses across the Ohio River in West Virginia, Matheny said.
Crystal Spring bottled water is sold in about six counties in Ohio and seven counties in West Virginia, Matheny said. The company is sending 2,000 letters to customers to tell them about plans to install a filter at the spring.
Tests on the bottled water showed C8 levels at 13 to 17 parts per trillion. The well supply that provides the residents' tap water contained 3,500 parts per trillion to 7,200 parts per trillion.
A University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study on about 325 residents who receive water from the Little Hocking water district showed that they had 80 times more C8 in their blood than the general population, but the researchers said they could not find a link to increased liver, kidney, thyroid or cholesterol problems.
A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency science panel has issued a draft report saying C8 is "likely" carcinogenic.
The chemical is used in many of DuPont's most popular products, such as nonstick coating for cookware, auto fuel systems, computer chips and clothing.
DuPont, which says C8 poses no human health threat, agreed to pay more than $107 million to settle the lawsuit with the residents over the chemical from the company's plant near Parkersburg, W.Va. DuPont also is paying for a health screening and study for up to 80,000 residents in six water districts in Ohio and West Virginia.
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