The Price of Cable May Soar! Watchdog Group to Petition for All Government Records on Meetings with Chemical Maker WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 - Environmental Working Group (EWG), whose investigation led to a potential federal fine against DuPont for covering up studies showing they had polluted human blood and drinking water supplies, will demand the release of all records of discussions of the issue between the company and federal officials. Today EWG announced a broad and aggressive public information campaign using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to seek release of all federal government records of conversations — including notes and agendas — with DuPont about a Teflon chemical that has contaminated drinking water near Parkersburg, WV. The petitions will demand all information pertaining to DuPont officials, employees of DuPont or their lobbyists, having meetings — official or otherwise — or engaging in any other type of communication with government officials about the Teflon chemical's health effects. Agencies targeted for FOIA petitions include the Council on Environmental Quality; Environmental Protection Agency; Consumer Product Safety Commission; Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; and the Departments of Justice and Commerce. The effort will lift the veil of secrecy that allowed a large corporation like DuPont to evade for decades government accountability for the health risks of the highly-profitable Teflon chemical called PFOA. In response to an EWG petition, in 2003 the U.S. Environmental Protection began investigating how the Teflon chemical, in use for 50 years, found its way into the blood of virtually every American. In July the Agency announced it would fine DuPont for hiding information about the chemical. The amount of the fine has not been announced, but it could be a record $300 million. The official requests to FOIA officers at the abovementioned federal agencies will be available Friday, October 15 on EWG's website, www.ewg.org. # # # The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC that uses the power of information to protect human health and the environment. Four years' worth of EWG research on Teflon chemicals and related substances is available at www.ewg.org/issues/PFCs/index.php.