Pittsburgh, PA, April 10, 2006--At the upcoming DuPont Company annual meeting on April 26, shareholders will be asked to vote as to whether the board of directors should report on options to accelerate the elimination of the controversial chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The resolution was filed by Amalgamated Bank's Longview Fund.
Julie Gozan of Amalgamated Bank stated, "We are concerned that DuPont's phase out of these chemicals is not expeditious enough to mitigate risk to shareholder value. To our awareness, the company plans to continue using PFOA for the foreseeable future. As shareholders, we urge management to act more decisively to eliminate PFOA."
DuPont recently entered into a voluntary agreement with EPA to reduce environmental emissions and product residues of PFOA over the next ten years. Attorney Sanford Lewis, a representative of the group DuPont Shareholders for Fair Value (DSFV), noted that "nowhere in its letter of commitment to EPA does DuPont management agree to eliminate the use or production of PFOA on any timeline."
PFOA is a substance that is linked with signature DuPont products such as Teflon cookware as well as stain and grease repellants used in food packaging, textiles and carpets. PFOA poses an array of concerns due to persistence in the environment and potential health impacts. DuPont is the only current US producer of PFOA.
Major market actors such as McDonalds have already announced their intentions to reduce their sale of PFOA-containing products. Said Amalgamated Bank's Gozan, "If DuPont does not provide the alternatives, competitors may fill the breach. In addition, we believe the continued use and production of PFOA poses enormous potential for environmental and product liabilities."
DSFV is an informal group of DuPont shareholders that includes Amalgamated Bank's LongView Collective Investment Fund, the United Steelworkers union (USW), Green Century Capital Management and the Sisters of Mercy, Merion Regional Community, Merion, PA.
Additional background information including audio webcasts of discussions with financial, legal and scientific experts is available at dupontshareholdersalert.org his communication is not a proxy solicitation, and neither DSFV nor Amalgamated Bank will accept any proxies. DSFV urges shareholders to vote for this stockholder proposal, Agenda Item 6 on DuPont management's proxy.
