The most disturbing thing I've read in a very long time
About 5 years ago my wife and I decided to never used teflon coated pots and pans again. Cast Iron are what we use now. We often discussed that teflon flaking getting into the human body could not be a good thing.
Looks like we were right.
Panel calls chemical a 'likely carcinogen'
By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY[/align]A chemical used to make Teflon, Gore-Tex and stain-resistant coatings is more likely to cause cancer than the government has previously acknowledged, according to a scientific panel.[/align][/align]PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid, is a "likely carcinogen" according to an advisory board to the Environmental Protection Agency. The science panel's pronouncement is the first step in a process that could result in the agency regulating or even banning some uses of the popular manufacturing agent.
The independent science board disagrees with a risk assessment of PFOA that the EPA drafted and released earlier this year in which the chemical was described as a "suggested" carcinogen.
Board members reviewing that report found PFOA to be of greater concern and advised the agency to conduct cancer-risk assessments on liver, breast, testicular and pancreas tumors in exposed animals.
Health and environmental experts have raised red flags about PFOA because of its pervasiveness.
Tests by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found PFOA in the blood of 95% of Americans, though researchers don't yet know how it's getting there.
PFOA is used in the manufacture of Teflon coatings on pans. It is also found in widely used coatings that make upholstery and clothing stain-resistant and in a grease-resistant coating on microwave popcorn and fast-food packaging among others.
The science panel posted its report on the EPA Web site this week and will hold a public meeting Tuesday to discuss its findings. The agency has declined official comment on the advisory report.
Delaware-based DuPont is already potentially liable for millions of dollars in fines to the EPA for failing to report significant information about the health risks posed by PFOA at its plant in Parkersburg, W.Va. The corporation was cited for failing to pass along the results of health tests it had done on workers at the plant.
That Washington Works plant on the Ohio River uses PFOA to manufacture fluoropolymers, temperature-resistant plastics that include some Teflon products. Last year, the company settled a class-action lawsuit brought by 60,000 residents of West Virginia and Ohio for as much as $343 million. The lawsuit accused the corporation of contaminating drinking water with PFOA from the Parkersburg plant.
Robert Rickard, DuPont's chief toxicologist, says the company does not believe there is an association between PFOA and cancer. "The real issue is risk. Clearly, these are low levels of potential exposure. It's our interpretation that (PFOA) does not pose a cancer risk to the general population," he says.
But Richard Wiles of the Environmental Working Group, an environmental research organization that has taken on PFOA, says DuPont is just fighting to protect one of its revenue sources.
"What DuPont is worried about is that this whole line of chemistry is on the block. PFOS, a similar compound, was taken off the market in 1999 and PFOA is next. They're way invested in this chemistry."
Finding different ways to create these sturdy coatings has become a mission for "green" chemists. These scientists have been searching for ways to manufacture products that fuel the U.S. economy and lifestyle without the environmental damage that has surfaced in recent years.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill have found a way to develop non-stick coatings using carbon dioxide, which does not produce PFOA. But DuPont spokesman Clifton Webb said the process doesn't produce a product that is high-enough quality for many uses.
RE: The most disturbing thing I've read in a very long time
Hmmm ... Yet another possible carcinogen in our already hopelessly tainted environment ? Gee , what will I do since there is no possibility that I can escape it ? I think I'll switch to frying my hashbrowns in much safer PCBs with just a dash of mutagenic mercury ...
PS: The sky is falling !
I've got much bigger fish to fry than worrying about non-stick cookware . BTW Data , the air you're breathing right now is slowly poisoning you and the cast iron is driving your blood iron levels to toxicity , have a nice day .
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RE: The most disturbing thing I've read in a very long time
Here's something more disturbing.
PORT ORCHARD, Wash. -- A man who is believed to have gotten a 10-year-old girl pregnant has been charged with first-degree child rape.
Jeremy Daniel Cockerham, 28, of east Bremerton, pleaded innocent Tuesday in Kitsap County Superior Court and remained in jail with bail set at $250,000. His trial was set for mid-August.
Cockerham is the girl's stepfather, officials told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reported.
According to documents filed by prosecutors in court, police were alerted in March by state Child Protective Services workers who learned that the girl was pregnant. She initially told detectives she was impregnated by a 10-year-old boy, but police Sgt. Kevin Crane says investigators never believed that account.
"We investigated that and we determined with a high probability that that wasn't even possible," Crane said.
Last month the girl gave birth, and DNA tests from a laboratory in North Carolina indicated with a 99.99 percent probability Cockerham is the father and ruled out the boy, who also was tested, police said. Further DNA tests at a state crime laboratory are pending.
The girl, now 11, is living with the baby boy and her mother
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RE: The most disturbing thing I've read in a very long time
Yippeee, water is practically considered a carcinogen in california.
Teflon is pretty much as chemically inert as sand, btw did you know that sand is considered a carcinogen?. About the only thing that breaks down teflon is high temperatures and bromine compounds. I'd be more concerned about the carriers used in 'spray on' teflon treatments than the teflon itself. One serious thing to note about teflon however- you don't want to overheat the stuff or expose it to open flame- when it breaks down, it gives off HF gas which is serious bad mojo to the human body or just about every other living thing for that matter.
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The most disturbing thing I've read in a very long time
