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Fortune

Ken Otterbourg

Teflon’s River of Fear

Chemours Mỹ Teflon DuPont Fortune 3 North Carolina Wilmington

(Credit: Photographed by Jeremy Lange for Fortune)

Teflon is the quintessential American product. It was discovered by accident and like many such discoveries was at first simply a creation in search of a purpose. Versions of it are in our frying pans and popcorn bags, our medical devices and electronic gadgets, our pruning shears and our cars. It is ubiquitous and essential. It is part of our vocabulary, uttered with both envy and exasperation to describe politicians and Mafia dons. It even helped win World War II: Teflon was needed to properly seal the pipes in the gaseous diffusion plant where uranium was enriched to make the first atomic bombs.

Teflon is made by Chemours, a chemical manufacturer that was spun out of DuPont in 2015. At that time, many investors thought Chemours was destined—even designed—to fail. It was weighted down with both DuPont’s environmental liabilities and billions in debt. But the company proved critics wrong and has become a stock market darling by selling businesses, cutting costs, and reaping a windfall from widespread adoption of its Opteon line of environmentally friendly refrigerants. With $6.2 billion in sales, Chemours ranks No. 451 on this year’s Fortune 500, up 31 spots from last year. Its erstwhile parent DuPont, meanwhile, fell off the list this year after completing its merger with Dow Chemical. (The combined DowDuPont ranks No. 47 on this year’s 500.) Shares of Chemours have soared more than 400% over the past two years vs. a 33% gain for the S&P 500.

An access road that leads to Chemours's Fayetteville Works.Jeremy Lange for Fortune

The pipeline that carries water from the Cape Fear River to the water treatment plant for Wilmington, N.C.Jeremy Lange for Fortune

Ken Madsen fills up bottles with noncontaminated water at Ogden Park in Wilmington. Like many residents, Madsen will not drink water from his faucet since the discovery of GenX in the supply.Jeremy Lange for Fortune

"We continue to believe that none of the discharges ... have adversely impacted anyone's health."
Mark Vergnano, CEO of Chemours

Plunkett: AP/REX/Shutterstock; Technician: Hagley Archive—Science Source; Atomic Bomb: Prisma Bildagentur/UIG via Getty Images; pan: Yay Media AS/Alamy: spacesuit: NASA/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images; boot: Kurguzova—Getty images; Reagan: Tony Korody—Sygma via Getty Images; Gotti: The Life Picture Collection/Getty Images; Ross: Larry Hulst—Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; protest: Ken Blevins—The Star-News via AP

Like Tylenol, Teflonperfluoroalkyl 3M 3M 3M

"People ask me why I don't just walk away," says one angry resident. "I didn't cause this. They did."

Kemp Burdette, the Cape Fear riverkeeper, has helped raise awareness about the dumping of GenX in the water.Jeremy Lange for Fortune

Rank 451

2017 Company Profile: Chemours.

Revenues	Profits
$6.2 Billion	$746 Million
Employees	Total return to shareholders
7,000	60%*

*Total Return to Shareholders assumes the 2007–2017 Annual Rate.

A fisherman at Lock and Dam No. 1 on the river.Jeremy Lange for Fortune

There is no regulatory level

The chemical treatment room at the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, which supplies the water for Wilmington.Jeremy Lange for Fortune

Jim MacRae owns 30 acres of land next to the Chemours plant and says his water is contaminated with GenX. He’s part of a group of residents suing the company.Jeremy Lange for Fortune

Industrial chemicals go through

Protesters by the side of N.C. 87, just outside the entrance to the Chemours factory.Jeremy Lange for Fortune

One sunny dayThis article originally appeared in the June 1, 2018 issue of Fortune.

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