DuPont Announces New and Sustained Commitments Related to PFAS Chemicals

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Aug 28, 2019, 08:05 ET

WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As a responsible partner in addressing concerns about the health and environmental impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), DuPont today announced a set of comprehensive commitments related to its use of these substances. The commitments represent both new and strengthened positions on sustainability and environmental and chemical stewardship.

PFAS are a group of chemicals that includes perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), GenX, and other chemicals, and have been used by many manufacturers to produce a broad range of industrial and consumer products and firefighting foams as early as the 1940s.

DuPont does not make PFOA, PFOS or GenX. Further, DuPont never manufactured or sold firefighting foam. While its use of other PFAS is a fraction of a percent of the total PFAS used globally, the company is actively pursuing alternatives where possible in its manufacturing processes.

"As a science-based company, DuPont is constantly learning from the past to innovate for the future – in our policies and protocols as well as our products," said Alexa Dembek, Chief Technology & Sustainability Officer, DuPont. "These commitments help ensure our actions align with our expectations for ourselves and the expectations of the communities we serve."

Safety, health and protecting the planet are core values at DuPont. Living our core values is our commitment to our employees, customers and the communities in which we operate. As such, the company commits to the following:

We will eliminate the use of long-chain PFAS in recently integrated operations by the end of 2019.
We will eliminate the purchase and use of all firefighting foams made with PFAS at our sites by the end of 2021.
We will continue to remediate our sites that have a PFAS footprint.
We support U.S. EPA and global regulatory efforts to develop science-based guidelines for PFAS and commit to meeting these requirements in our global operations.
Beginning in 2020, we expect to provide free access to our product stewardship software, grant royalty-free licenses to others that want to pursue PFAS remediation using our PFAS water treatment resin technologies, and fund grants to universities and other research institutes for new, innovative PFAS remediation technologies.
Also beginning in 2020, we expect to add external experts to supplement our existing review processes for the use and handling of substances of concern.
Finally, we will share our progress toward meeting these commitments.

"These commitments are designed to strengthen our current chemicals management and stewardship practices so that the new DuPont's manufacturing and supply chain choices match our commitments to sustainability, our customers and the communities in which we operate," said Dembek.

DuPont works with customers and industry leaders in safety, healthcare, nutrition, electronics, mobility and construction to deliver game-changing, innovative solutions to address some of the biggest challenges facing the world.

View the full commitments.

For more information, please visit us at https://www.dupont.com/pfas.html, and follow us on Twitter @DuPont_news.

About DuPont
DuPont (NYSE: DD) is a global innovation leader with technology-based materials, ingredients and solutions that help transform industries and everyday life. Our employees apply diverse science and expertise to help customers advance their best ideas and deliver essential innovations in key markets including electronics, transportation, construction, water, health and wellness, food and worker safety. More information can be found at www.dupont.com/.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This communication contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "see," "will," "would," "target," and similar expressions and variations or negatives of these words.

On April 1, 2019, the company completed the separation of its materials science business into a separate and independent public company by way of a pro rata dividend-in-kind of all the then outstanding stock of Dow Inc. (the "Dow Distribution"). The company completed the separation of its agriculture business into a separate and independent public company on June 1, 2019, by way of a pro rata dividend-in-kind of all the then outstanding stock of Corteva, Inc. (the "Corteva Distribution").

Forward-looking statements address matters that are, to varying degrees, uncertain and subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, many of which that are beyond DuPont's control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results. Some of the important factors that could cause DuPont's actual results to differ materially from those projected in any such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (i) ability and costs to achieve all the expected benefits from the Dow Distribution and the Corteva Distribution (together, the "Distributions"); (ii) restrictions under intellectual property cross license agreements entered into in connection with the Distributions; (iii) non-compete restrictions agreed in connection with the Distributions; (iv) the incurrence of significant costs in connection with the Distributions, including costs to service debt incurred by the Company to establish the relative credit profiles of Corteva, Dow and DuPont and increased costs related to supply, service and other arrangements that, prior to the Dow Distribution, were between entities under the common control of DuPont; (v) risks related to indemnification of certain legacy liabilities of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company ("Historical EID") in connection with the Corteva Distribution; (vi) potential liability arising from fraudulent conveyance and similar laws in connection with the Distributions; (vii) failure to effectively manage acquisitions, divestitures, alliances, joint ventures and other portfolio changes, including meeting conditions under the Letter Agreement entered in connection with the Corteva Distribution, related to the transfer of certain levels of assets and businesses; (viii) uncertainty as to the long-term value of DuPont common stock; (ix) potential inability or reduced access to the capital markets or increased cost of borrowings, including as a result of a credit rating downgrade and (x) other risks to DuPont's business, operations and results of operations including from: failure to develop and market new products and optimally manage product life cycles; ability, cost and impact on business operations, including the supply chain, of responding to changes in market acceptance, rules, regulations and policies and failure to respond to such changes; outcome of significant litigation, environmental matters and other commitments and contingencies; failure to appropriately manage process safety and product stewardship issues; global economic and capital market conditions, including the continued availability of capital and financing, as well as inflation, interest and currency exchange rates; changes in political conditions, including tariffs, trade disputes and retaliatory actions; impairment of goodwill or intangible assets; the availability of and fluctuations in the cost of energy and raw materials; business or supply disruption, including in connection with the Distributions; security threats, such as acts of sabotage, terrorism or war, natural disasters and weather events and patterns which could result in a significant operational event for DuPont, adversely impact demand or production; ability to discover, develop and protect new technologies and to protect and enforce DuPont's intellectual property rights; unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as management's response to any of the aforementioned factors. These risks are and will be more fully discussed in DuPont's current, quarterly and annual reports and other filings made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in each case, as may be amended from time to time in future filings with the SEC. While the list of factors presented here is considered representative, no such list should be considered a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on DuPont's consolidated financial condition, results of operations, credit rating or liquidity. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. DuPont assumes no obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws. A detailed discussion of some of the significant risks and uncertainties which may cause results and events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements is included in the section titled "Risk Factors" (Part II, Item 1A) of DuPont's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 6, 2019 as may be modified by DuPont's subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.

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SOURCE DuPont