The Trouble with PFOA: Testing, Regulation and Science Concerning Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Implications for Future Litigation

PFOA, also known as C8, is a synthetic chemical that has been used in the manufacture of commercial products such as non-stick cookware, stain-resistant clothing and carpets, food wrappers, and firefighting foam, and has many industrial uses as well. Although “[t]here is still controversy over PFOA’s toxicity,” PFOA has raised health concerns because it is persistent in the environment, found at low levels in the blood of the general U.S. population, remains in the human body for a long time, and has been linked to adverse health effects in laboratory animals. In 2006, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) instituted — and eight manufacturers signed onto — a Global Stewardship Program designed to phase out PFOA by the year