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DuPont- Shareholder Proposal on PFOA

  • Company: DuPont
  • Subject: Feasibility of Phasing Out PFOA
  • Year: 2006
  • Sector: PFOA
  • Lead Filer: Amalgamated Bank LongView Collective Investment Fund
  • Co-Filer: United Steelworkers International Union, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
  • Outcome: Vote: 28.9%

Annual Meeting: Wednesday Apr 26, 2006

Whereas:

United Steelworkers, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, 3340 Perimeter Hill Drive, Nashville, Tennessee 37211, owner of 74 shares of DuPont Common Stock; Amalgamated Bank LongView Collective Investment Fund, 15 Union Square, New York, New York 10003, owner of 333,298 shares of DuPont Common Stock; and Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, 515 Montgomery Avenue, Merion Station, Pennsylvania 19066, owner of 100 shares of DuPont Common Stock have given notice that they will introduce the following resolution and statement in support thereof:

Resolved:

The shareholders of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company ("DuPont") urge the Board of Directors to issue a report on PFOA compounds used in DuPont products by the 2007 Annual Meeting, at reasonable cost and excluding confidential information, evaluating the feasibility of an expeditious phase-out of the use of PFOA in the production of all DuPont products including materials that may degrade to PFOA in use or in the environment, and the development and adoption of safer substitutes.

Supporting Statement:

DuPont faces liabilities and marketplace risks due to the potential health and environmental consequences of PFOA, a chemical processing aid used in the production of Teflon® and other products.

PFOA does not break down in the environment and may be detectable in theblood of more than 90% of Americans. 3M—the original supplier—stopped producing PFOA in the U.S. due to concerns about its environmental impacts. PFOA has been detected in household dust in consumers' homes in several states, and in water near DuPont facilities in Parkersburg, WV, Fayetteville, NC and Circleville, OH.

The Company states in shareholder reports that it believes PFOA does not harm human health. Yet as of the filing of this resolution, management had not disclosed in shareholder reports that workers in DuPont's Parkersburg, WV facility most of whom were likely to have experienced elevated exposure to PFOA compared with the general population, were found to have higher than normal levels of leukemia, rheumatic heart disease, atherosclerosis and aneurysm.

Therefore, shareholders believe that the report requested by this resolution should also summarize the scientific studies indicative of potential health hazards associated with PFOA.

A class action lawsuit seeking $5 billionin damages has been filed against our company alleging the management's failure to disclose known risks of Teflon® to consumers, including but not limited to issues associated with emissions of PFOA.

In September 2004, DuPont settled a class action involving PFOA water pollution near the Parkersburg, WV plant, where DuPont manufactures Teflon®. DuPont will pay at least $108 million under the settlement. The company could have to spend an additional $235 million for medical monitoring for area residents and be subject to further personal injury suits if an independent panel finds a link between PFOA exposure and disease. (DuPont Form 10Q, 11/5/04)

DuPont received a criminal subpoena from the U.S. Justice Department in May 2005 regarding alleged withholding of information on risks of PFOA. This follows EPA civil charges asserting that the management unlawfully withheld information from EPA related to the Parkersburg, WV facility including the presence of PFOA in blood samples of pregnant DuPont employees, and PFOA contamination in local drinking water above the Company's community exposure guidelines. (EPA Notice, 7/8/04)

Risks of PFOA and related compounds
are currently under review for potential regulatory restrictions or bans in Canada, Australia and Europe.

To defend share value against the risks associated with PFOA, proponents urge a yes vote on this resolution.