| In the ongoing case regarding whether or not a chemical produced at the Wood County DuPont plant affected community residents or DuPont workers - DuPont announced this week there is no evidence longtime workers have been harmed by the chemical.
Now, a motion accusing DuPont of interfering with the independent science panel study called for in the C8 settlement has been filed in Wood County Circuit Court.
Attorney Harry Deitzler, a lead attorney in the case, filed the motion, after a DuPont attorney sent a letter to a scientific panel of physicians asking them to stop all work related to disease problems among DuPont Washington Works employees.
The letter said "Please stop all work related to an incidence of disease study on DuPont's Washington Works employees. Such a study was not contemplated by the settling parties and is not part of the settlement agreement."
"DuPont has now substantially completed Phase I and II of the worker studies at Washington Works. Therefore, DuPont has determined that any additional studies performed on this DuPont worker population are best conducted by DuPont or its contractors."
Deitzler says, "DuPont's order in violation of the settlement agreement, on its face, prevents the science panel from casting its independent eyes on DuPont's hand-picked worker data that only DuPont advocates have been permitted to review."
"Aside from the obvious possibility of data tampering or manipulation, such interference is highly prejudicial to impartial scientific analysis of the issue as was agreed to (and ordered) in the settlement."
DuPont issued a press release this week that a study by company epidemiologists concluded employees at the Washington Works plant did not suffer adverse health effects.
Over 50,000 community residents have undergone testing to see if C-8 has created health problems after the chemical was discovered in the public water supply.
The motion asks for a clarification to the panel that neither party has authority to give direction or tamper with the scientific panel.
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