Ohio reaches $110M settlement with DuPont

Ohio officials have announced a $110 million settlement with DuPont, a Wilmington, Delaware-based multinational chemical company, to resolve claims over the company’s production and use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

The lawsuit alleges that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a type of PFAS used to make Teflon, was released into the air and water from DuPont’s Washington Works facility in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

The Ohio Capital Journal reports DuPont manufactured Teflon products using PFOA from the 1950s until 2013. PFOA has been connected to kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disease, low birth weight and high cholesterol.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine filed the lawsuit against DuPont and Chemours in the Washington County Common Pleas Court in 2018 when he was Ohio Attorney General.

As reported by the Dayton Daily News, officials say money will be used to create treatment systems, address water contamination in private wells and potentially seek out additional water sources for some impacted areas.

RELATED: EPA settles with DuPont for alleged hazardous waste violations

“DuPont ignored the fact that the chemicals they were releasing were toxic, and this settlement ensures that they are held responsible for the pollution they knowingly caused to the environment,” Gov. Mike DeWine said during a Nov. 29 news conference.

The bulk of settlement money will fund clean-up efforts in Southeast Ohio. A total of 80 percent of the settlement money will go toward addressing pollution at the Washington Works plant in Washington County. Another 16 percent will address damages from firefighting foam, which was made using PFAS for decades, and 4 percent will go toward mitigating damage to natural resources, according to state officials.

Chemours and Corteva, both spin-offs of DuPont, will also help pay for the settlement. Chemours will pay half of the settlement, DuPont will pay $39 million and Corteva is expected to pay the rest, the Ohio Capital Journal reports.

“This was not a slam dunk of a legal case,” DeWine said. “I think this is the absolute best we could have done without a jury trial."