DuPont chemical still allowed in California.

California's governor has vetoed a bill that would have banned a DuPont-made chemical in food packaging in that state.
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Instead, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this week signed a pair of bills backed by the chemical industry that establish a regulatory framework for chemicals that are potentially hazardous to human health.

 

But Schwarzenegger, in a veto statement, said he did not think a "chemical-by-chemical, product-by-product approach" was an effective way to make state policy.

 

"I prefer a more systematic, science-based approach that would take into account the health effects, risks, and available alternatives for chemicals used in commerce today," the governor said.

 

The "green chemistry" initiatives that Schwarzenegger signed into law could lead to a ban of chemicals in household items that are determined to have harmful health effects. Schwarzenegger said PFOA and PFOS, the perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs, targeted in the vetoed bill, should be reviewed under the new state program.

 

DuPont spokesman Dan Turner said the governor took the right approach in vetoing the PFOA bill and establishing the new chemical review initiative.

 

 

PFOA, also known as C8, is used in the production of DuPont's nonstick coating Teflon and other products. The chemical is not used to make grease-resistant coatings for food packaging, like DuPont's Zonyl line of products, but it shows up in trace amounts as a byproduct.

 

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