Whistleblower Questions Teflon's Safety

[MarsThe Cat]

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=1325178

Whistleblower Questions Teflon's Safety
Former Employee Says Chemicals Come Off on Food

Nov. 18, 2005 — A chemical made by DuPont and used in their Teflon products is under investigation. Called PFOA, the chemical was approved by the federal government 38 years ago for coating the packaging of a wide range of food products to prevent grease stains.

"Nobody likes to see a popcorn bag with grease that's penetrating through. It looks like it's old and greasy and grimy," says Glen Evers, a former DuPont senior engineer. Evers tells ABC News DuPont tried to hide the fact that the chemical coating comes off and ends up in humans in far greater concentrations than originally thought.

In addition, scientific surveys have found the Teflon chemical, which is linked to organ damage and cancer in lab animals, is now in the blood of virtually every American. The chemical then stays in the blood, a fact that was unknown when the chemical was first approved.
"It bioaccumulates, which means the chemical goes into the blood, and it stays there for a very long period of time," said Evers.

A DuPont memo from 1987, obtained by the Environmental Working Group, reveals test results that show the chemical was coming off at three times the amount DuPont first thought it would...

happy eatin' folks.

[buzzard]

1. It is toxic to birds you can't cook with teflon in your kitchen

because it can kill them. I wouldn't wan't to kill my babies I remember painting with oil paint and the bottom one fell off his perch as if drunk it was the fumes.

[Thtwudbeme]

3. What a pretty chicken!

Is that your Thanksgiving dinner?

[buzzard]

5. LOL Some days my kids wish they were dinner they can get quite loud.

[MarsThe Cat]

7. this isn't about the teflon that's in pans and cookware-

this is teflon derivative/version (?) that's in food wrappers- especially the greasy stuff.

[buzzard]

9. Ok thanks, just read the article. n/t

[Realityhack]

10. Gorgious Parrots.

Whish I could keep them but currently not possible. Have volunteered at a shelter from time to time though.

[buzzard]

20. Thanks they really are funny creatures with definite personality.n/t

[barb162]

21. they are gorgeous

[Trillo]

2. It's no wonder the Republicans are against

more health care benefits. They can't afford to be finacially 'Responsible' for their approval decisions and the results of their cronyism.

[MindPilot]

4. I wonder if that has anything to do with the increase in autism?

just askin'

[psychopomp]

6. Seriously, I was just thinking about this the other day

Why is it that Americans accept teflon coatings on their cooking utensils so offhandedly? When I was growing up, our teflon pans in the kitchen would eventually wear out, so that the teflon began to wear away from the pan's metal surface. Undoubtedly, some of that teflon ended up in myself and my family.

I look forward to more details about this matter.

[MarsThe Cat]

8. this isn't about the pans-

they use the stuff in fast-food wrappers, and it leeches into the food, and then bio-accumulates in the bloodstream.

[lindisfarne]

11. This IS about the teflon in pans. See this website.

http://www.ewg.org/reports/toxicteflon/es.php
See also
http://www.ewg.org/issues/siteindex/issues.php?issueid=5014

There's also a separate issue about chemicals used in paper coatings.
http://www.ewg.org/news/story.php?id=4680
The scientists used the company's widely used Zonyl RP grease-resistant coating as a benchmark because it was supposed to leach out the chemicals at a rate of 0.2 parts per million or less. But when the tests results came back, Evers said, they showed that the popular product leached out at 0.62 parts per million, three times the amount allowed by the Food and Drug Administration.

The two products tested were never put on the market for unrelated reasons, but Zonyl RP is still in use.

The issues related to teflon go beyond teflon:
http://www.ewg.org/issues/siteindex/issues.php?issueid=5014
PFCs - A Family of Chemicals That Contaminate The Planet
April 2003 - Consumers instantly recognize them as household miracles of modern chemistry — Teflon, Scotchgard, Stainmaster, Gore-Tex. -- However, these perfluorochemicals"" (aka PFCs) have emerged as a regulatory priority for scientists and officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Until recently they were thought to be biologically inert. No one thinks so now."

[MarsThe Cat]

12. the newstory was about the paper-coatings, NOT the pans...

that's a seperate issue.

[Megahurtz]

13. Yeah and why are there so many teflon coated pans?

It seems like it's all you can buy anymore. That stuff's nasty!

[lindisfarne]

14. And why do environment-lovers buy gore-tex? n/t

[Megahurtz]

15. Lol!

:D

[AndyTiedye]

17. People Use Teflon Pans to Avoid Having to Put Lots of Grease/Oil/Fat In

[Angry Girl]

18. Americans are very gullible

Unfortunately, Americans were raised for the most part on Hollywood, a technological paradise for propaganda. They've always been told that if the government says it's OK, it's OK. Combine that with the dumbing down of America and you get an entire country of passive, uneducated, lazy consumers.

[Porcupine]

16. Cast Iron: same pans for 40 years and it's good for you.

My family has been using cast iron pans all my life for frying and stainless or enamel pots for everything else. I have two cast iron pans that my mother had when I was born over 40 years ago.

I get smarter all the time just doing what I've always done. Sweet.

[ShockediSay]

19. Ditto woks n/t