Invista Will Pay $500 Million to Clean Up Former DuPont Facilities

The textile maker Invista recently reached a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which sued the corporation for environmental noncompliance at 12 facilities that Invista acquired from the chemical giant DuPont in 2004.

Invista, a former DuPont subsidiary known as DuPont Textiles & Interiors, reports that it discovered 680 violations within weeks of the purchase and voluntarily submitted its findings to EPA. According to Invista, DuPont did not disclose the problems prior to the sale and is accountable for cleanup and mitigation. DuPont denies this charge and has made no move to take responsibility—hence Invista’s suit against DuPont for $800 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The violations include noncompliance with air, water, hazardous waste, emergency planning, and pesticide regulations.