Dr. David's News You Can Use

Short Article #2

Nonstick cookware is everywhere. It's often cited as the perfect example of "better living through chemistry," but maybe it's not such a good example after all. Recent findings show that 95% of Americans have detectable levels of Teflon related chemicals in their blood. It is now persistent in the environment and toxic to pet birds and laboratory animals. This is another product that was released without adequate testing on an unsuspecting public, and the cover up continues. In fact, almost no human studies can confirm the safety of Teflon.

Teflon, patented by DuPont, has been around since the forties and has been followed by its harder coated polymer, Silverstone. It is used in packaging, carpeting, and Gore-Tex water repellant clothing to mention just a few current uses. The biggest question is simple. What happens when Teflon products are burned? The answer is Teflon toxicosis or polymer fume fever (symptoms similar to the flu). The most obvious sign of this condition is pet birds dieing when kept in the kitchen. The fumes have also been confirmed as harmful to small children, and tend to settle near the floor where children play. If we continue to use pots and pans with these coatings, how can we be sure that our children are safe?

In years past, coal miners used to have small cages on their hard hats in which a canary was placed. Small birds are sensitive to toxic fumes, and if the canaries started to show signs of illness it meant that poisonous gas had started to leak into the mine and that the miners had to evacuate immediately.

Teflon, or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) causes cancer and health problems in laboratory animals. It has become so ubiquitous that a study at John's Hopkins Hospital found a byproduct of PTFE called perfluorooctanic acid (PFOA) in the umbilical cord blood of 99% of newborns tested over a 5 month period. There is presently a class action suite filed by several states claiming that Teflon releases PFOA under normal cooking use and that DuPont did not warn consumers about the dangers. One of the gases released when Teflon is heated is similar to phosgene, a nerve gas used in Worlds War I.

It has been over fifty years since the introduction of Teflon products, and neither the government nor industry has undertaken full scale testing to assure the safety of these products. New findings by an environmental advocacy group, The Environmental Working Group (EWG) may soon force the EPA to commence further in-depth testing. The independent studies done by the EWG are suggesting that the off-gassing from Teflon is a much more serious problem that previously thought.

DuPont, 3M, Ciba and other companies that use PFOA have been advised to reduce environmental releases by 95% no later than 2010. DuPont has been accused of ignoring and hiding information about health risks associated with Teflon products for more than 20 years. As a result, DuPont was fined $16.5 million, the largest administrative EPA fine in history. Does this sound like a company we can trust???

If you use Teflon cookware, use it at low temperatures and never preheat the cookware without food or liquid to reduce toxic emissions. Avoid using cardboard containers in the microwave to heat greasy food. Pizza boxes, fast food containers, and microwave popcorn bags have a grease resistant Teflon coating. Glass or corning ware is preferable. I use uncoated stainless steel and cast iron skillets, and I do not own a microwave.