FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ENRD

FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2007 (202) 514-2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

Dupont Agrees to Spend $66 Million to

Reduce Air Pollution at Four Plants
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency announced a settlement today with E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co. that is
expected to reduce more than 13,000 tons of harmful emissions annually from four
sulfuric acid production plants in Louisiana, Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.

Du Pont will spend at least $66 million on air pollution controls at the plants and
pay a civil penalty of $4.125 million under the Clean Air Act settlement. The states
of Louisiana, Virginia and Ohio joined the federal government in today’s agreement
and will receive shares of the civil penalty.

“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to a level playing field and

compliance with the law in the sulfuric acid industry,” said Ronald J. Tenpas,
Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environmental and
Natural Resources Division. “Today’s settlement shows the high level of
cooperation possible among the federal government, our local and state partners,
and industry when all are committed to compliance and meaningful improvement of
the environment.”

“Today’s settlement will reduce harmful air pollutants by more than 13,000 tons per
year,” said Granta Y. Nakayama, EPA assistant administrator for the Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The actions taken today will ensure that
those affected will be able to breathe a little easier knowing these pollutants will no
longer be in the air.”

The company will meet new, lower emission limits for sulfur dioxide at its sulfuric
acid production units in Darrow, La.; Richmond, Va.; North Bend, Ohio; and
Wurtland, Ky. At the Burnside plant in Darrow, the largest of the four, Du Pont will
install state-of-the-art “dual absorption” pollution control equipment by Sept. 1,
2009, at an estimated cost of at least $66 million. At the other three plants, DuPont
has the option of installing appropriate control equipment or ceasing operations to
meet the new lower emission limits. The additional cost of installing control
technologies at all of the remaining three plants, if Du Pont does so, is estimated to
be at least $87 million. All four plants will meet their lower emission limits by
March 1, 2012.
Du Pont is the second sulfuric acid manufacturer in the nation to agree to a
company-wide global compliance agreement as part of an initiative under which the
Justice Department and EPA expect to reach similar agreements with other sulfuric
acid manufacturers. The first global sulfuric acid manufacturing compliance
agreement was announced earlier this year with Rhodia Inc. As a result of the two
settlements, this initiative has now garnered pollution control at 12 plants, which
will eliminate a combined total of 32,000 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions per year.
When fully implemented, the settlement with Du Pont will reduce sulfur dioxide
emissions from the four plants by approximately 90 percent.

Du Pont’s plants produce acid by burning sulfur, creating sulfur dioxide. The sulfur
dioxide is then converted to sulfur trioxide, which combines with water to form
sulfuric acid. Air pollution is emitted when unconverted sulfur dioxide and sulfuric
acid mist are released to the atmosphere. Children, the elderly, and people with heart
and lung conditions are the most sensitive to sulfur dioxide.

The government’s complaint, filed today with the consent decree, alleges that Du
Pont made modifications to its plants which increased emissions of sulfur dioxide
without first obtaining pre-construction permits and installing required pollution
control equipment. The Clean Air Act requires major sources of air pollution to
obtain such permits before making changes that would result in a significant
emissions increase of any pollutant. Today’s settlement will ensure that future
emissions will be reduced to a legally acceptable level.

The EPA is focusing on improving compliance among industries that have the
potential to cause significant amounts of air pollution, including the cement
manufacturing, glass manufacturing, and acid production industries.

The consent decree, lodged today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District
of Ohio, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal
court. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Justice Department Web site
at http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. Du Pont is required to pay the
penalty within 30 days of the court’s approval of the settlement.

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