News Releases from Region 03

EPA Amends Drinking Water Order to DuPont

PHILADELPHIA (January 9, 2017) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced an amendment to the 2009 Safe Drinking Water Act consent order between EPA and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont).  The amendment adds The Chemours Company (Chemours) to the 2009 order, and requires both DuPont and Chemours to take additional actions to reduce exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in drinking water for residents in Ohio and West Virginia living near the Washington Works facility in Parkersburg, WV.

The amendment contains a new action level of .07 parts per billion (ppb) of PFOA which triggers the temporary provision of an alternate source of drinking water by DuPont and Chemours. The temporary provision of drinking water will continue until a permanent alternate drinking water supply is provided.  The amendment also expands the geographic areas to be investigated and requires appropriate action if levels of PFOA in drinking water of .07 ppb or more are discovered.

This amendment to the 2009 Order, which had included a temporary action level of .40 ppb, is supported by site-specific data, as well as the Lifetime Health Advisory issued by EPA on May 19, 2016, that established .07 ppb, of PFOA in drinking water as protective of human health.