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HOUSTON, (Reuters) - Two Florida law firms said
Tuesday they had filed class action lawsuits against
DuPont Co., charging the chemicals giant hid the potential
health hazards of its Teflon non-stick cookware coatings.
The
lawsuits against E.I. DuPont de Nemours Co. , which were
filed by Kluger, Peretz, Kaplan & Berlin P.L.
and Oppenheim Pilelsky P.A. in federal courts in several
states, call for DuPont to pay damages to class members,
create a fund for medical monitoring of consumers who purchased
products containing Teflon, and put warning labels on cookware
with Teflon.
"The class of potential plaintiffs could well contain
almost every American that has purchased a pot or pan coated
with DuPont's non-stick coating," plaintiff's lawyer
Alan Kluger said in press statement.
In May, DuPont (up
$0.29 to $43.97, Research )
said it received a subpoena from the U.S. Justice Department's
Environmental Crimes Section to turn over documents about
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a chemical used to make
Teflon coatings.
That came a month after DuPont agreed to settle allegations
by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency that the company
had failed disclose health data about PFOA for two decades.
In an e-mail statement, DuPont said it would vigorously
defend itself against the allegations in the lawsuit.
"Consumers using products sold under the Teflon brand
are safe. Cookware coated with DuPont Teflon non-stick
coatings does not contain PFOA," DuPont spokesman
Clif Webb said in the statement. |