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My name is Dawn Ebron, and I am a Secondary Education major specializing in Science. Once I graduate, I plan to begin teaching high school in Arizona and begin working on a Master=s degree. My topic is the history and overview of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.As the world is growing and changing, it is the responsibility of those who live in it to know how the changes are affecting the environment. One way to accept responsibility is to know who or what is causing the changes in the environment. It is important to be familiar with the major companies worldwide and their products One company that has recently been in the spot light is DuPont. DuPont has met all of the challenges it has faced during its long history and has plans and goals to continue their success into the next century.
The DuPont company had an interesting
start. Eleuthere Irenee du Pont Nemours, a young Frenchman who
lived in America at the time, spent an afternoon shooting with
a French-born American artillery officer, Colonel Louis de Toussard.
Before the day was over, the two men ran out of powder and went
to a country store to buy some more. The powder they found was
of poor quality and was very highly priced. Since du Pont had
studied under the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier in Paris, he
knew the charateristics of good quality powder. That night,
du Pont considered the days events and decided that America needed
a high quality gun powder factory like those found in Paris. He
quickly mapped out his ideas and figured the costs of the business.
With one stamping mill and one wheel mill, du Pont calculated
that the company could produce 160,000 pounds of gunpowder at
$40,000 during peacetime. The cost of manufacturing would total
$30,000 so the net profit would total $10,000. E. I.. du Pont
went back to Paris in search of financial support.1
In 1802 in Wilmington, Delaware, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and
Company started as a gunpowder company that would become much
more.
After close to 100 years in business,
DuPont felt the effects of the shifting economy. Many other companies
would have collapsed under the changes, but DuPont realized that
they needed to change with the economy in order to succeed. The
start of the 20th century marked the point where DuPont made the
transition from an explosives company to a chemical one. Three
of E. I. du Pont's grandsons, Thomas Coleman du Pont, Alfred
I. du Pont, and Pierre Samuel du Pont, believed DuPont could make
the transitions and bought the company from the shareholders.2
Also during the early 20th century,
DuPont began to expand. As a chemical company, DuPont wanted to
develop and create new products. The Eastern Laboratory was developed
under the supervision of DuPont as the "first industrial
research laboratory 2." Between 1911 and 1914,
two companies were formed as spin-offs of DuPont. The Hercules
Powder Company and Atlas Powder Company were completely independent
of DuPont. As the years passed, DuPont expanded by opening companies
outside the United States. Europe, Latin America, and Asia were
all countries that were part of the expansion, but the biggest
purchase for DuPont came in 1981. The company acquired Conoco,
a oil, gas, and coal company.2 The main headquarters
of DuPont is located at 1007 Market St. in Wilmington, Delaware.
To better understand DuPont's worldwide
control, one would have to look at its 1996 statistical reports.
DuPont's gross income totaled $43.8 billion, and the net income
was $3.6 billion. Half of the its business came from exports.
As of 1996, DuPont has 175 manufacturing and processing facilities.
These facilities break down into 27 natural gas processing plants,
eight petroleum refineries, and 140 chemical and specialty plants.
DuPont also has over 75 development labs and customer service
labs worldwide. The current CEO and president of DuPont is John
A. Krol. He became president in October of 1995 and CEO on December
of 1995. He has been at DuPont for 34 years. He has bachelor's
and master's
degree in chemistry. DuPont employs 97,000 people worldwide.3
DuPont currently has a wide array
of products and brands for which it is responsible. The chemicals
that DuPont produces are used in refrigeration, textile, paper,
plastics, and chemical processing. The company also produces fibers
that are used in our everyday clothing.4 DuPont also
works with films, finishes, petroleum, plastics, health care products,
biotechnology, and composite materials. Some of the more well
know brands of DuPont are Teflon, Lycra, Stainmaster, Antron,
Kevlar, Tyvek, Coolmax, and Cordura. 3
With such a successful past, DuPont
has high hopes for repeating its success in their third century.
DuPont has set six goals for itself for the next century. The
company wants to remain competitive globally, sharpen its business
focus, and increase its productivity. "Committing to safety,
health, and environmental excellence and continuing to extend
its significant science and technological achievement" are
top priorities for the company. Lastly, DuPont has goals that
include "empowering people, capitalizing on its strong corporate
and product brand franchises"2.
A controversial issue when discussing
any chemical company is the safety standards and their protection
plans of the environment. DuPont has prided itself in its work
safety record. Although it has one of the best records, the company
makes continuous steps to improve. They believe "that all
injuries and illnesses are preventable"5. In
January of 1995, a "Discovery Team" was formed to discuss
safety improvements in the DuPont companies. This team of 30 employees
from around the world interviewed 1,000 employees to discover
their perceptions of safety in the workplace. The findings showed
that commitment from management, regular checks of the workplace
to find and correct potential problems, continuous training, and
recognition and rewards were keys to maintaining a safe working
environment.5
Although DuPont is well known for
its safety and protection of the environment, it has problems
like any company. One of their fungicides, Benlate DF, has been
under fire from farmers who claimed that it destroyed crops ranging
from tomatoes and blueberries to cucumbers. Research by the farmers
found that the Benlate was contaminated with a herbicide known
as sulfonylureas (SUs). DuPont took Benlate off the market at
first and settled almost 2,000 claims from farmers. About two
years after the original claims, DuPont stopped settling the claims
and the farmers went to court. In a case in Columbus, GA, DuPont
and the farmers settled the suit before the jury gave the verdict.
The farmers settled for 100 times less than what they had sought
in the suit, and DuPont did not have to accept any blame for the
damage to the crops. DuPont claimed a victory in this case, but
a month later in Arkansas, 31 farmers were awarded $10.65 million
for crop damages.6 DuPont's chairman, Edgar Woolard,
commented on the claims about Benlate: "'We plan to vigorously
defend Benlate at every turn,' . . . 'Sometimes we may win, sometimes
we may lose. In all of our losses we will appeal. Our opinion
is simple: We believe we are right about this and will not give
in'" 6.
DuPont has recently been in the news
in South Georgia. The company had plans to mine titanium minerals
on the Trail Ridge that is east of the Okefenokee National Wildlife
Refuge. The titanium minerals are used by DuPont to manufacture
titanium dioxide which is used in paints, paper, plastics, fibers,
foods and cosmetics. They will also mine zircon and staurolite
in the area. For the almost 40 years, DuPont has been mining the
same materials in Stark, FL, and they recently bought land in
Georgia to continue the same activity.7 Their plans
were met by opposition from Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in
April when he flew over the area that was to be mined. DuPont
argued that their activity will not harm the environment of the
Okefenokee Swamp, but Babbitt voiced his disagreement with DuPont
when he said, "You can study this, you can write all the
documents in the world, . . . but they are not going to prove
beyond a reasonable doubt that there will be no impact [on the
swamp]" 8. What concerns the Interior Secretary
is the method they will use to collect the minerals. A 15-20 acre
pond will be formed and a dredge will excavate the ore. The ore
is then separated at a plant in the pond. The depth of the mining
will range from 50 feet to 15 feet. This process is known as surface
mining. DuPont planned to replace the topsoil, grasses and trees
after the mining was completed.7 The project was to
begin in 2002 and last for 40 years, but DuPont announced on April
11, 1997 that they were stopping activities in the Okefenokee
Swamp.9 It is not completely clear what DuPont's next
step will be in the area. Jon A. Samborski, Director of Environmental
Affairs, writes "We plan to enlist a respected independent
third party to ensure that the process is fair, inclusive, and
truly collaborative. We will be open to all possible outcomes,
including the full range from 'mining' to 'no mining.' We remain
committed to dialogue so that all parties, including DuPont, can
ultimately make informed decisions on the merits of the project--not
assumptions9."
DuPont is only one of the many companies
that have an impact on the environment. All companies have products
and methods of production they may be harmful. Even with DuPont's
excellent safety record, they have been surrounded in controversy.
No company is perfect therefore knowing a company's history and
its impeccable records will not prevent problems. What will maintain
the balance of the environment is staying updated on companies'
plans and projects.
1. Dutton, William S. Du Pont:
One Hundred and Forty Years. New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1949.
2. "Brief History of DuPont."
http://www.dupont.com/gbl-company/history.html. April 5, 1997.
3. "DuPont Company Overview."
http://www.dupont.com/gbl-company/overview.html. April 5, 1997.
4. "DuPont Product News."
http://www.dupont.com/products/index.html. April 15, 1997.
5. Minter, Stephen G. "DuPont
Discovers Safety." Occupational Hazards. Aug. 1995:
6.
6. Curriden, Mark. "Low Settlement
Seen As DuPont Win." ABA Journal. Nov. 1993: 34-35.
7. "Project Description."
Fact Sheet DuPont Folkston Project. April 1997.
8. Cushman Jr., John H. "Official
Attacks Plan For Mining Project." New York Times.
4 Apr. 1997, late ed.: A9. 9. Samborski, Jon A. letter. 17 April, 1997. |