PITTSBURGH, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) union has mailed information to over 4,500 retail carpet dealers and sent letters to the CEOs of 35 carpet manufacturing companies informing them that they may have "a legal duty to warn" their customers about potential harmful effects of carpets that may contain perfluorooctanoic acid, a Teflon-related chemical also known as PFOA or C8 that may be present in various stain repellents. DuPont Company is a major manufacturer of some of the relevant stain repellant products.

The circulars and letters come on the heels of the announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of a proposed $16.5 million settlement with DuPont over charges that the company withheld documents on the health and environmental risks associated with PFOA. A draft report by the EPA's Science Advisory Board identified PFOA as a "likely human carcinogen."

Carpets are coated with Teflon-related chemicals called fluorotelomers at various manufacturing facilities. Fluorotelomers may break down into PFOA.

According to a Chief Executive Officer Magazine article, researchers from 3M Corporation, which in 2000 stopped manufacturing PFOA, "speculated that children might be exposed [to PFOA] by crawling on carpets treated with stain repellants." 3M submitted data to the EPA in 2001 that found PFOA in the blood of 96% of 598 children studied across the country.

Courts have found, according to the USW, "a duty to warn" exists where a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer had knowledge of the health or safety risks of a product, and consumers, due to a lack of warning, were harmed by a dangerous product. Lack of a warning may promulgate a legal liability.

"We sincerely hope that our efforts will encourage carpet manufacturers and retailers to provide warnings and thereby protect the public," said Ken Test, Chair of the USW DuPont Council, a coordinating body for 1,800 USW members at DuPont. "Carpet company employees who may have the highest exposure to PFOA must also be warned and protected."

Some familiar names of carpet retailers and manufacturers receiving the USW information are Dalton Carpet Outlet, Carpet Giant, Carpet Land, Mannington, Mohawk Industries, and Shaw Industries.

Fluorotelomers can also be included in grease resistant coatings for food packaging, personal care items and cleaning supplies, and are also found under the name Zonyl.

The USW is the largest industrial union in North America, and has 850,000 members in the U.S. and Canada.

CONTACT: Joe Drexler, USW Strategic Campaigns, Cell Phone: (615) 594.2074