This West Virginia town was home to chemical company giant, DuPont, for several decades. The Parkersburg plant location was involved with the production of perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as C8, a major component in its Teflon line. During the 1980s DuPont purchased farm land to serve as a landfill for it's "non-hazardous" materials that had a creek running through it which fed into the Ohio River. The C8 that was dumped in the landfill made its way into the surrounding water supply and was responsible for extreme rates of six major human diseases that disproportionately affected Parkersburg residents. Several class-action and lawsuits have been filed against DuPont for its role in the water contamination and not reporting information about C8.
Stain-Resistant, Nonstick, Waterproof, and Lethal: The Hidden Dangers of C8 by 
Exposure : Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer's Twenty-Year Battle Against DuPont by The library's collections and services are available to all ISU students, faculty, and staff and Parks Library is open to the public.
