DuPont Found Liable In Teflon C-8 Toxic Damage Lawsuit

In a massive toxic chemical environmental pollution case that has been slowly coming to the boil over the past 25 years, the affected thousands of victims of DuPont’s callously dumping action of millions of tons of highly toxic waste products from its Teflon production sites, has finally seen the light of day.

Read the fascinating account of the C-8 story in the Huffington Post.

The jury has spoken loud and clear, in the first trial for a DuPont C-8 water contamination lawsuits. A Columbus, Ohio jury awarded $1.6 million to Carla Bartlett, who developed kidney cancer after the C-8 chemical used to manufacturer Teflon was dumped into her local river drinking water from a West Virginia chemical plant.

While DuPont is the named defendant, a recent spin-off of its performance chemicals segment, Chemours Co, will cover DuPont’s liability.

3,500 And Counting Local Victims Poisoned

DuPont is exposed to 3,500 lawsuits from residents around DuPont’s Washington Works Plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia who are pursuing compensation against DuPont over C-8 toxic exposure.

DuPont’s Washington Works plant used C-8 as a processing aid to make products including Teflon nonstick cookware. DuPont used C-8 at the plant since the 1950s and continued even after learning it was potentially toxic and had been found in nearby drinking water.

C-8 Toxic Lawsuit Claims

The plaintiffs have similar allegations, that they suffered various toxic side effect injuries from the release of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C-8 or C8.

According to experts, DuPont knew for many years that C-8 from the plant caused serious health issues for the residents, including cancer, serious birth defects and other severe physical complications.

The company callously disregarded numerous spills and C8 releases into the environment, and dumped millions of tons of the highly dangerous chemical into unlined waste pits, which contaminated the drinking water for millions of people.

Federal Multidistrict Litigation

All C-8 lawsuits have been centralized for pretrial proceedings before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus in the Southern District of West Virginia.

The Trial

The jury found that Bartlett’s cancer was caused by exposure to C-8, and awarded compensatory damages of $1.6 million.

The jury did not award punitive damages against DuPont’s Chemours Co. subsidiary, after finding that the manufacturer had not acted with gross negligence in the chemical releases.

DuPont C-8 Health Problems

According to experts, DuPont C-8 is a highly toxic, cancer-causing agent that stays in the environment indefinitely, that does not bio-degrade or decompose to a less dangerous form.

Toxicology and epidemiological studies have linked C-8 exposure to kidney disease including cancer, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis, testicular cancer, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and cholesterol elevation.

According to lawsuits filed by residents, they were injured by the drinking water supply contamination . The plaintiffs allege that the DuPont company knew C-8 was toxic since at least 1961 but failed to take steps to prevent water contamination or to warn their employees or nearby residents of the catastrophic health risks.

The plaintiffs claim the DuPont company hid the side effects of C-8 and lied to residents and various investigating health officials.

A panel of independent epidemiologists has investigated the dangers of C-8. In a study released in July, they confirmed many of the diseases are linked to exposure of C-8. The study looked at 70,000 residents who were exposed to the chemical via their drinking water.