DUPONT AGREES TO LEAD PAINT SETTLEMENT:

The DuPont Co. has reached a multimillion dollar settlement in a landmark lawsuit brought by Rhode Island against makers of lead paint. According to the state attorney general, six other manufacturers remain as defendants in the lawsuit, which accuses the industry of creating a public health threat that poisons thousands of children a year.

The settlement will cost DuPont $10 million or more, depending on the cost of remediating lead hazards in 600 homes, Attorney General Patrick Lynch said. DuPont said it expects to pay up to $12.5 million. DuPont will pay several million dollars to the nonprofit group Children’s Health Forum to remove lead paint and educate the public in Rhode Island, Lynch said. It will also pay $1 million to Brown University Medical School for research into solutions to the problem, and will donate money to the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center in Boston.

Rhode Island sued the industry in 1999 in the first attempt by a state to hold the industry responsible for the dangers of lead paint in old buildings. The industry has argued that the lawsuit was misdirected and that property owners who fail to maintain their properties should be held accountable. A trial ended in 2002 with a hung jury. A new trial is set for September.

Lynch said he had been negotiating with DuPont for more than a year. He said he remained open to talks with the other six companies, but no agreements were close. The other companies are Atlantic Richfield Co., Millennium Holdings LLC, NL Industries Inc., Sherwin Williams Co., American Cyanamid Co. and ConAgra Inc.