Residents in and around Marietta, OH have been drinking bottled water tainted with the chemical C8, which is used by Dupont to make Teflon.
The chemical traces were discovered by a rural southeastern Ohio water system. Approximately 1,000 people have been drinking bottled water supplied by Dupont since 2004, when a class action lawsuit was brought against the company. At that time, residents had accused DuPont of hiding and lying about the health threat posed by perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts, known as C8, from a plant near Parkersburg, WV.
Under the lawsuit settlement, DuPont agreed to supply the bottled water until it installed filters at well-water treatment plants to remove C8.
Concerns about Dupont and it use of C8 have been ongoing. [The Marietta Times] reported in September 2003 that its local drinking water was polluted. C8 was discovered in some area public water systems back in January 2002: Dupont had conducted secret tests and had not informed the public of its results.
At this time, The Environmental Working Group, based in Washington, DC, asked that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency investigate DuPont's failure to report this information, and it requested that DuPont be fined for not reporting the results of its tests or making them public to local communities.
The Environmental Protection Agency states that C8 is a "likely carcinogenic". [Dupont]however, says that C8 is not harmful. It uses C8 in many products, including nonstick cookware, auto fuel systems, computer chips and clothing.