Some of you may have heard of the controversy surrounding the use of non-stick pans and wondered what all the fuss was about. Well it turns out that DuPont, one of the main manufacturers of non-stick chemicals and coatings for all sorts of products has been covering up knowledge it has had since the 1970's about the toxicity and danger of its products.
They have been fined the largest fine in US history for this scandal (even though it is still just a small amount in comparison with their profits) and now the industry is coming under increasing pressure to phase out the use of these dangerous and toxic chemicals. With good reason. They are bioaccumulative, and have been found in more than 90% of the population in the USA. Once they are created they never break down. That is even worse that DDT and PCB contaminants, as those at least do break down over time.
If you are interested in understanding why these chemicals are dangerous, read the full story available at the Environmental Working group which published a detailed report on all things to do with these chemicals. Recent research is showing that they are even more dangerous than DDT and PCB's to our health and environment - and that means a lot, as DDT was (and still is) a huge issue when it emerged what damage it can do in the environment.
My advice would be to avoid using teflon coated pots and pans, non-stick or waterproof coated materials and other products that are labeled with "Teflon". They are even making trousers and shirts with teflon these days to make ironing easier! I think I would rather spend a bit more time ironing than contaminate myself with even more chemicals that are known to be toxic and never biodegrade!
Stories of people who have been sick with unidentifiable causes have been emerging more and more recently in relation to the use of many of these products. One man's experience with the use of teflon pots and pans actually caused him to be sick with aches and pains, and flu like symptoms for a long time until he threw away his teflon pans and then suddenly began feeling better. Interesting. I wonder how often people are exposed to toxic substances which cause problems in their bodies and never put two and two together in relation to them feeling sick all the time? Something to think about. A lot of doctors would say its all in your head, but I don't think so, often the causes just aren't discovered or linked. People don't just make things up like that normally, its not fun being sick.
So be wise and choose your cookware and other products carefully.
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Consumers instantly recognize them as household miracles of modern chemistry, a family of substances that keeps food from sticking to pots and pans, repels stains on furniture and rugs, and makes the rain roll off raincoats. Industry makes use of the slippery, heat-stable properties of these same chemicals to manufacture everything from airplanes and computers to cosmetics and household cleaners.
But in the past five years, the multi-billion dollar “perfluorochemical” (PFC) industry, which underpins such world-famous brands as Teflon, Stainmaster, Scotchgard and Gore-Tex, has emerged as a regulatory priority for scientists and officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The PFC family is characterized by chains of carbon atoms of varying lengths, to which fluorine atoms are strongly bonded, yielding essentially indestructible chemicals that until recently were thought to be biologically inert. No one thinks so now.
A flood of disturbing scientific findings since the late 1990s has abruptly elevated PFCs to the rogues gallery of highly toxic, extraordinarily persistent chemicals that pervasively contaminate human blood and wildlife the world over. As more studies pour in, PFCs seem destined to supplant DDT, PCBs, dioxin and other chemicals as the most notorious, global chemical contaminants ever produced. Government scientists are especially concerned because unlike any other toxic chemicals, the most pervasive and toxic members of the PFC family never degrade in the environment.
The U.S. EPA peremptorily forced one member of this family off the market in 2000: PFOS, the active ingredient used for decades in the original formulation of 3M’s popular Scotchgard stain and water repellent. Shortly thereafter, 3M also stopped manufacture of a related perfluorochemical, called PFOA, that is now under intense regulatory pressure at EPA. 3M formerly sold PFOA to DuPont, which has used PFOA for half a century in the manufacture of Teflon. (DuPont now now makes the chemical itself at a new facility in North Carolina.) Alarmed by findings from toxicity studies and by the presence of PFOA in the blood of more than 90 percent of the U.S. population, EPA is expected to announce initial steps to regulate the chemical in early April (2003).
This report provides the first, comprehensive review ever published of the pollution and health risks posed by PFCs, with special reference to PFOA. It is based on a review of 50,000 pages of regulatory studies and government documents obtained from EPA; internal documents from DuPont and 3M disclosed in ongoing litigation; and an examination of a growing body of independent studies on the toxicity and environmental occurrence of PFCs.
This report also explains how major companies like 3M and DuPont, who endlessly boast about their scientific prowess, could get away with permanently contaminating the entire planet for decades amid assurance from the chemical industry that it practices “responsible care” with respect to public health and the environment.
http://www.ewg.org/reports/pfcworld/es.php
They have been fined the largest fine in US history for this scandal (even though it is still just a small amount in comparison with their profits) and now the industry is coming under increasing pressure to phase out the use of these dangerous and toxic chemicals. With good reason. They are bioaccumulative, and have been found in more than 90% of the population in the USA. Once they are created they never break down. That is even worse that DDT and PCB contaminants, as those at least do break down over time.
If you are interested in understanding why these chemicals are dangerous, read the full story available at the Environmental Working group which published a detailed report on all things to do with these chemicals. Recent research is showing that they are even more dangerous than DDT and PCB's to our health and environment - and that means a lot, as DDT was (and still is) a huge issue when it emerged what damage it can do in the environment.
My advice would be to avoid using teflon coated pots and pans, non-stick or waterproof coated materials and other products that are labeled with "Teflon". They are even making trousers and shirts with teflon these days to make ironing easier! I think I would rather spend a bit more time ironing than contaminate myself with even more chemicals that are known to be toxic and never biodegrade!
Stories of people who have been sick with unidentifiable causes have been emerging more and more recently in relation to the use of many of these products. One man's experience with the use of teflon pots and pans actually caused him to be sick with aches and pains, and flu like symptoms for a long time until he threw away his teflon pans and then suddenly began feeling better. Interesting. I wonder how often people are exposed to toxic substances which cause problems in their bodies and never put two and two together in relation to them feeling sick all the time? Something to think about. A lot of doctors would say its all in your head, but I don't think so, often the causes just aren't discovered or linked. People don't just make things up like that normally, its not fun being sick.
So be wise and choose your cookware and other products carefully.
--------
Consumers instantly recognize them as household miracles of modern chemistry, a family of substances that keeps food from sticking to pots and pans, repels stains on furniture and rugs, and makes the rain roll off raincoats. Industry makes use of the slippery, heat-stable properties of these same chemicals to manufacture everything from airplanes and computers to cosmetics and household cleaners.
But in the past five years, the multi-billion dollar “perfluorochemical” (PFC) industry, which underpins such world-famous brands as Teflon, Stainmaster, Scotchgard and Gore-Tex, has emerged as a regulatory priority for scientists and officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The PFC family is characterized by chains of carbon atoms of varying lengths, to which fluorine atoms are strongly bonded, yielding essentially indestructible chemicals that until recently were thought to be biologically inert. No one thinks so now.
A flood of disturbing scientific findings since the late 1990s has abruptly elevated PFCs to the rogues gallery of highly toxic, extraordinarily persistent chemicals that pervasively contaminate human blood and wildlife the world over. As more studies pour in, PFCs seem destined to supplant DDT, PCBs, dioxin and other chemicals as the most notorious, global chemical contaminants ever produced. Government scientists are especially concerned because unlike any other toxic chemicals, the most pervasive and toxic members of the PFC family never degrade in the environment.
The U.S. EPA peremptorily forced one member of this family off the market in 2000: PFOS, the active ingredient used for decades in the original formulation of 3M’s popular Scotchgard stain and water repellent. Shortly thereafter, 3M also stopped manufacture of a related perfluorochemical, called PFOA, that is now under intense regulatory pressure at EPA. 3M formerly sold PFOA to DuPont, which has used PFOA for half a century in the manufacture of Teflon. (DuPont now now makes the chemical itself at a new facility in North Carolina.) Alarmed by findings from toxicity studies and by the presence of PFOA in the blood of more than 90 percent of the U.S. population, EPA is expected to announce initial steps to regulate the chemical in early April (2003).
This report provides the first, comprehensive review ever published of the pollution and health risks posed by PFCs, with special reference to PFOA. It is based on a review of 50,000 pages of regulatory studies and government documents obtained from EPA; internal documents from DuPont and 3M disclosed in ongoing litigation; and an examination of a growing body of independent studies on the toxicity and environmental occurrence of PFCs.
This report also explains how major companies like 3M and DuPont, who endlessly boast about their scientific prowess, could get away with permanently contaminating the entire planet for decades amid assurance from the chemical industry that it practices “responsible care” with respect to public health and the environment.
http://www.ewg.org/reports/pfcworld/es.php
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