DuPont has announced a series of commitments related to its use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a class of chemicals that is used in a wide range of industrial and consumer products, including firefighting foams. However, PFAS chemicals have been linked to many adverse health impacts, including cancer and infertility.

“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 chief technology & sustainability officer Alexa Dembek.

The pledges include abolishing the use of long-chain PFAS in recently integrated operations by end 2019; eliminating the purchase and use of all firefighting foams made with PFAS at DuPont sites by end 2021; ongoing remediation at its sites with a PFAS footprint; supporting US Environmental Protection Agency and global regulatory efforts to develop science-based guidelines for PFAS, and committing to these requirements.

In addition, beginning in 2020, DuPont said it will provide free access to its product stewardship software, grant royalty-free licenses for using its PFAS water treatment technologies, fund grants for innovation remediation processes and add external experts to its existing review processes for substances of concern. The company also promised to share its progress toward meeting the commitments.

While DuPont said it does not make perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) or GenX – a more recent formulation developed as an alternative to PFOA – it did make these chemicals prior to spinning off its fluoroproducts business into Chemours in July 2015.

The now separate companies are currently embroiled in a legal dispute. Chemours is suing its former parent alleging that DuPont severely underestimated its liabilities for spills of perfluorinated compounds from US production sites. In response, DuPont said the companies’ responsibilities were clearly laid out in the spin-off agreement.

The use of PFAS in firefighting foams has become a contentious issue in the US as runoff from military sites has contaminated drinking water and groundwater in nearby communities. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) says there are more than 100 military sites across the US with known PFAS contamination.

Several states across the country have now passed laws to prohibit or restrict the use of PFAS in firefighting foams as well as in food contact materials and food packaging.