Why is this peer consultation happening?

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University is conducting a peer consultation pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) for a Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) Site Environmental Assessment Program.

The goal of the PFOA Site Environmental Assessment Program is to gather data and other information that will answer the following question:

“Are current PFOA environmental releases and sources of those environmental releases from the Site and the presence of PFOA in environmental media on and around the Site sufficiently understood so that pathways of migration and exposure to PFOA associated with that Site are adequately characterized and assessed on a screening level basis?” (EPA, 2004)

Who is funding the peer consultation?

The peer consultation is being funded by the DuPont Company.

Who is managing the peer consultation?

Dr. Mitchell Small of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University is serving as the Independent Third Party (ITP) administrator to manage the peer consultation process and ensure an unbiased review of DuPont’s Assessments and recommended data needs.

What is the purpose of the peer consultation?

The purpose of the Peer Consultation Process is to provide a forum for scientists and relevant experts from various stakeholder groups to exchange views on the DuPont Company’s assessments and in particular on the recommended data needs and to provide these views in a written, pubilcly-available report to DuPont and the EPA. 

What is PFOA?

PFOA stands for perfluorooctanoic acid. It is a synthetic chemical used to make fluoropolymers that has been found to be persistent in the environment. For the latest information from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on PFOA, go to: http://www.epa.gov/oppt/pfoa/

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