EPA: Compound in Teflon may cause cancer

msnbc.msn.com ^ | June 29, 2005 | Tom Costello

[bookworm100]

Teflon, and the products that contain PFOA, are everywhere — from pots and pans, to Gore-Tex jackets, carpet coatings, computer chips, engine fuel lines and even pizza boxes... The issue now before the EPA is whether a chemical that's become a part of everyday life is also a threat

[bookworm100]

In new tests conducted by a university food safety professor, a generic non-stick frying pan preheated on a conventional, electric stovetop burner reached 736°F in three minutes and 20 seconds, with temperatures still rising when the tests were terminated. A Teflon pan reached 721°F in just five minutes under the same test, as measured by a commercially available infrared thermometer. DuPont studies show that the Teflon offgases toxic particulates at 446°F. At 680°F Teflon pans release at least six toxic gases, including two carcinogens, two global pollutants, and MFA, a chemical lethal to humans at low doses. At temperatures that DuPont scientists claim are reached on stovetop drip pans (1000°F), non-stick coatings break down to a chemical warfare agent known as PFIB, and a chemical analog of the WWII nerve gas phosgene. See more at http://tuberose.com/Teflon.html

[Fierce Allegiance]

Solution: Grandma's cast iron.

[battlegearboat]

John Gotti?

[goldstategop]

Pure Barbara Streisand. Lots of things may kill us but I've never heard of a case in which an individual died from Teflon-induced cancer. The risk is small but the convenience of using Teflon coated products is substantial.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[Red Badger]

Let's see, aluminum causes Alzheimer's, Teflon causes cancer, Barbecue causes cancer. Cast iron pots and pans are the way to go. Just like grandma and her ma used..........and still do......

[stocksthatgoup]

The materials mentioned are used to produce teflon but do not pose a danger to consumers.

[sandbar]

The problem (and I LOVE my cast irons and use them regularly because they distribute heat evenly and for longer with less fuel) is that for things like eggs and other 'sticky' items, you have to use too much butter or grease to keep half your food from burning the bottom.

So it's a choice, heart disease from the grease and butter or cancer from the Teflon. Hey, at least we've gotten rid of that pesky death by wild animal problem, right?

[DB]

It has long been known that Teflon produces very nasty gasses when it burns. This is nothing new. The gasses are highly corrosive and are very toxic to humans.

There's a simple solution...

Don't burn up your Teflon pans...

[Sacajaweau]

Just a little late in telling us about Teflon, aren't they. When I see "Teflon" as cause of death on a certificate, I'll worry.

I'm more concerned with the pharmaceutical drugs with those side symptoms....that include everything from headaches to suicide.

[FreedomPoster]

>>Hey, at least we've gotten rid of that pesky death by wild animal problem, right?

With the increase in mountain lion and bear populations out West due to protections, that may no longer be a "given".

[toothfairy86]

I heard the teflon emissions can kill pet birds in the house too.

[Sacajaweau]

Always thought that the enamel pans were the cleanest cooking and lightest pans to use.....as long as you didn't burn something.

[berkeleybeej]

I think the more significant safety issue is raised with folks (like my ex) who use metal utensils and gouge the non-stick surface or use rubber spatulas that tend to melt into the food. I can't remember how many spatulas he destroyed.

[Paloma_55]

Wait till they find out the stain inhibitor in carpets, broken into microfibers as you walk on it, and then inhaled...

I give it about 20 years.

[Fierce Allegiance]

We're all gonna die! I smoke, so I don't have too much ground for gripe.

[bookworm100]

I heard the teflon emissions can kill pet birds in the house too.

There is really good article at:
http://www.theaviary.com/teflon.shtml

[doc30]

It's all part of the "precautionary principle" invented by the greenies in Europe. The precautionary principle simply means that a material is assumed dangerous until proven safe under all circumstances. That's why certain governments (e.g. California) are banning flame retardants in furniture and bedding. They are not 100.0000000% safe, therefore, consumers need protection, even at the increase risk from fire. In Europe, plasticizers based on phthalates (used in baby items and medical devices like IV bags and tubing) are being banned and they are looking at banning polycarbonate because it is made from a bisphenol A monomer. Bisphenol A's are toxic, even though there are no free BPA's in polycarbonate. Now teflon is being added to the list. The fluorinated decomposition products are toxic. Birds for example, are extremely susceptible. That's why if you have a $1000 parrot at home, you never put the cage near the kitchen. Burn something and you have a dead bird fast. Humans have more advabced livers so we can break down the fluorinated toxins more efficiently so we are not as susceptible to acute toxicity.

[Paloma_55]

Heck, I still think the odds of getting killed in a car blow away all of the other factors by orders of magnitude.

I was just pointing out that the fibers we use without a 2nd thought in our carpets have a tendency to break off and float around in the house. I doubt anyone did a big study on that stuff before they allowed it to be sold in mass.

We are all going to die. Some of us will not let that stop us from living.

[fireforeffect]

Do not forget.

Fluoride causes cancer, the EPA requires utilities to put it in your water.

MTBE (a fuel additive) causes cancer and is very mobile in ground water, EPA requires it's use.

The list goes on.

Also the national academy of science decides that low levels of radiation can cause cancer. More than 100 milliwhatevers (they used an odd unit I have never heard of) in your life time give a 1 in 1000 chance of cancer developing. Of course the average American receives 55,000 milliwhatevers over their lifetimes from background radiation.

Go figure.

[Fierce Allegiance]

MTBE (a fuel additive) causes cancer and is very mobile in ground water, EPA requires it's use.

Not any more.