DuPont said yesterday it has developed new technologies that will allow the company to eliminate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from packaging by 2015, a move made due to consumers' health concerns about the chemical.
PFOA is used in the making of fluorochemicals, which are used in non-stick and oil and grease resistant food packaging linings. Pizza boxes and confectionary wrapping are examples. However the chemcials are known to rub off and migrate into foods. Once ingested, the chemicals can break down into PFOA, a related chemical used in the making of Teflon-coated cookware.
While scientific studies indicate that PFOA poses little risk to human health, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been under pressure from community groups to ban the use of the chemical.
The situation came to a head in late 2005 when DuPont was hit by allegations that it hid studies allegedly showing the high health risks posed by the chemical. DuPont denied the charges.
After the allegations the EPA called on DuPont and six other corporations to voluntarily eliminate PFOA and similar substances from plant emissions and products by 2015. The companies wee asked to meet the commitments in the US as well as at their operations overseas.
In January last year DuPont announced it would reduce its use of the chemical, but warned that eliminating it altogether might be impossible. In a press release, the company said it has already reduced PFOA emissions by 96 per cent from US plant sites.
Now the company says it has made "significant progress" in developing new high-performance products with reduced PFOA, adding that it would be able to phase out the chemical completely by the voluntary deadline.
For its fluorotelomer products, DuPont said it has successfully commercialized a new, patented manufacturing process that removes more than 97 per cent of trace levels of PFOA, its homologues and direct precursors.
PFOA is not used in the manufacture of fluorotelomers. However it is created as an unintended by-product. The breakthrough meets the voluntary EPA program three years ahead of schedule, the company said.
The company will be branding the new products as “LX Platform”. The PFOA-free products will be available to customers beginning in the first quarter. The “LX Platform” will be used for surface protection for paper packaging, fluorosurfactants and coatings, leather, stone and tile, DuPont stated.
For fluoropolymer products, DuPont said it has reduced PFOA content in aqueous dispersion products using new its patented Echelon technology. The technology reduces PFOA content in converted products by at least 97 per cent, the company claimed. The technology will be used for durable coatings for the electronics, industrial, architectural and consumer products segments.
DuPont also said that ongoing manufacturing modifications have resulted in its ability to continue to aggressively reduce PFOA emissions to the environment. The company claimed to have achieved a 94 percent reduction in global manufacturing emissions as of year-end 2006 and projects that it will achieve reductions of 97 per cent by the end of this year.
Company chairman and chief executive Charles Holliday, Jr. said the company is currently developing potential alternative technologies, that allows it to commit to eliminate PFOA by 2015.
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