Environmental, Labor Groups Want DuPont Fined

For Immediate Release                                         November 9, 2006

Richmond, VA – An official investigation requested by a coalition of environmental and labor groups has confirmed PFOA and other chemicals are leaking from DuPont's plant in Richmond, Va.

In early 2006 the Sierra Club, United Steelworkers (USW), and Ampthill Rayon Workers Inc. (ARWI) asked the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ to investigate suspected PFOA leaks from the plant.  The groups’ own investigation revealed PFOA in samples of DuPont's wastewater, local drinking water, and employees’ blood.

An investigation conducted by VDEQ, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and DuPont confirmed PFOA in groundwater beneath the plant, Grindall Creek, and an unauthorized surface water discharge to the James River from a location called East Ditch.