Posted on 01/26/2006 5:40:26 PM PST by neverdem
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on Wednesday a voluntary program whereby makers of Teflon and other non-stick, stain-resistant products would cut back emissions of a suspected carcinogen, a byproduct of the manufacturing process.
The companies would agree to reduce emissions of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, and slash its use in products by 95 percent by 2010, and then completely eliminate it by 2015.
The non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) said the move was significant, despite its voluntary nature and apparent lack of enforceability.
"We want to commend the EPA for their leadership on this and make it very clear that these chemicals pose numerous health risks," said EWG President Ken Cook at a news conference Wednesday. "They are extraordinarily persistent and virtually all Americans have them in their blood already."
EWG did not reserve its praise for the EPA only. Cook also singled out chemicals giant DuPont "as a company at its best."
Last month, DuPont agreed to pay record EPA fines for previous PFOA-related violations, including a $10.25 million penalty and another $6.25 million to support two EPA environmental projects. Those projects include a $5 million, three-year look at the "degradation potential" of nine of DuPont's fluorotelomer-based products to break down and form PFOA.
According to the Associated Press, Dupont has already signed onto the new, voluntary program.
PFOA is used in the manufacture of fluoropolymers and fluorotelomers which, in turn, are used to make a wide-range of non-stick and stain-resistant products, such as Teflon.
"These have been called wonder chemicals," said Jane Houlihan, EWG's vice president for research. "They have now evolved into staple stain and grease-proof coatings for a broad array of everyday consumer products, including microwave popcorn bags, carpets and blue jeans."
"With this announcement, these chemicals join a short list of chemicals that have been banned or are the subject of a public phase-out," Houlihan continued.
In animal studies, PFOA has caused malignant tumors and immune suppression, said EWG senior scientist Tim Kropp. Some 95 percent of Americans tested have shown evidence of the chemical in their blood, the watchdog group said.
Under the terms of the EPA's "global stewardship program," DuPont and six other major chemical companies will commit to reduce by 95 percent emissions and product content levels of PFOA and PFOA precursors no later than 2010. The companies will work toward eliminating these sources of PFOA exposure by 2015.
Companies are being asked to provide their commitment to the EPA no later than March 1, 2006.
Despite the program's voluntary status, EWG officials felt optimistic about its chances for success.
"It is unfortunate that stuff cannot be enforced and that the EPA does not have the tools to require this type of action, but with this specific action we have a confluence of factors that make us relatively confident that this will happen," Kropp said.
Primary among them is that consumers no longer want these chemicals in their products, which makes the secondary companies that put the chemicals in products reluctant to use them, he said.
"There are a lot of market forces driving these companies to come up with a better alternative and something that's greener and cleaner," Kropp said.
More junk science fueled by blatent product misuse and overblown trial lawyer hype.
They will pry my non-stick pans "out of my cold, dead hands!"
I note that DuPont is reported to have paid huge amounts in fines, without a hint of what they were "fined" for.
Next to the ADA, my disgust of illegal government is reserved mainly for the EPA.
The reason that "95% of Americans can be shown to have the chemical in their blood" is because fluorocarbons can be detected at lower levels than just about any other material. The actual CONCENTRATION is probably in the part-per-billion or part-per-trillion range or lower.
Didn't they ban Primatine the other day? Or was that the FDA?
Good thing we have Republican government!
Guess I'd better pull out my old cast iron skillet and grease it with lard that will clog my arteries and kill me at 70*. But at least I'll be protected from a part per trillion chemical that might impact my health when I'm 150 years old.
(*I'd say 55, but I'm already past that!)
would cut back emissions of a suspected carcinogen
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Um... shouldn't it be proven to be a carcinogen before they start these sorts of programs. What categorizes something as 'suspected' is often just 'outcry from an environemntal group'.
Does anyone else feel the need to push for junk science to be declared a felony, punishable by death, because these eco-lunatics want to take us back to the stone age one regulation at a time.
Notice that they are making the product chemicals sound trivial, while the bogey-man chemical has a name only a chemist could love (unlike "dioxin" - sounds bad).
The uses of this stuff mentioned in this article are the least valuable uses for it. These chemicals are used extensively in a bewildering array of commercial products, especially in high end materials handling such as food processing.
That said, screaming "carcinogen!" isn't good enough. Let's see the data.
Hell hath no fury like a woman deprived of her Teflon coated pan.
EPA has stepped on its tenders with the proverbial hob-nailed boots with this one. And, IMHO, it couldn't happen to a more deserving (of outrage) agency.
Don't ya know - 'according to science' hot animal fats produce cancer causing chemicals. Ban the Barbie! Nevermore shall the hog meet the log!
Wait a minute - the investigators on that project ate all those steaks grilled for science. Carcinogenic chemicals and all.
Hmmmn. Can we just ban EPA?
"Primary among them is that consumers no longer want these chemicals in their products"
The sure didn't ask me!
I could care less, I consider all carcinigens in moderate doses necessary to maintain a strong immune system.
I did some perfluorooctanoic acid at Woodstock, it was like freebasing a skillet.
Don't recall anyone dying of the stuff, or was that the brown acid? I get confused.
In further breaking news, the USEPA has announced that they will be setting exposure standards for a compound that may contribute to world wide deaths. This compound, dihydrogen oxide, has been detected in extremely high concentrations in humans. According to one EPA spokesperson - "Everyone who has ever come in contact with this material has died". Industry spokespersons are at a loss for a replacement.
Somebody could be pumped up to be the the next "Erin Jockofitch"
Yes, but in those cases, the fluorocarbon decomposition product is present in FAR higher concentrations than I suspect are the case here.
Ah, not to worry. There is a new diamond film coating that is even slipperier than Teflon, and it WON'T peel off the frying pan.
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