DuPont agrees to potential $340 million-plus settlement in Teflon lawsuit

Thursday, September 9th 2004, 2:30 pm

By: News On 6

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) _ The DuPont Co. agreed to a settlement potentially worth more than $340 million Thursday to resolve allegations the chemical giant contaminated drinking water in West Virginia and Ohio with a key ingredient used in its Teflon products.

The settlement was reached between DuPont and lawyers for as many as 60,000 residents in the Parkersburg, W.Va., area who sued over exposure to the chemical C8, also known as ammonium perfluorooctanoate or PFOA. The deal is subject to approval by a West Virginia judge.

The settlement calls for cash payments and expenditures of $85 million, as well as attorneys' fees and expenses of $22.6 million. Also, DuPont must fund a $5 million study into whether C8 causes disease in humans. And if a scientific panel finds such a link, DuPont will have to pay up to $235 million on medical monitoring of residents.