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News & Analysis | REG•WATCH Blog | Press Room
Friday, November 18, 2005
Maybe This Time the Wrap Will Stick
This might make you think twice the next time you order pizza or unwrap a piece of candy. An ex-DuPont official recently leaked documents detailing how DuPont covered up 20-years of studies showing that the chemical Zonyl, produced by DuPont and used in the making of candy wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes and other food packaging, was degrading into the dangerous chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and seeping into the food products at levels three-times the FDA-recommended limit from 1967. Studies in rats, which DuPont conveniently withheld from federal agencies and the public, showed kidney and liver damage as a result of exposure. Zonyl is related to another DuPont chemical, Teflon, which has also been found to leak PFOA into food when the Teflon coating degrades.
In January, EPA issued a draft risk assessment of the PFOA, which though acknowledging the potential health risks, fell far short of condemning the chemical or its makers. EPA will have a change to redeem itself, however, when an advisory panel meets next month to decide whether PFOA should be listed as a likely human carcinogen. EPA is also currently in settlement with DuPont over the withheld studies.
More Information:
AP: Papers: DuPont Hid Chemical Risk Studies"
EPA Risk Assessment Finds Potential Risk to Humans in Teflon(1/24/2005)
Making Sure that Nothing Sticks: EPA and DuPont (1/18/2005)
Posted by Genevieve Smith
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