Teflon: Is Your Cookware Hurting You?
by John Heilprin, Associated Press
The
Environmental Protection Agency warns that people nationwide could face
“a potential risk of developmental and other adverse effects” from
exposure to low levels of a chemical used in making the nonstick
substance Teflon.
EPA
issued a draft assessment of the potential risks of perfluorooctanoic
acid and its salts, known as PFOA, or C-8. The report, based on animal
studies, says some evidence exists that PFOA is carcinogenic in rats,
but the cancer hazard for people is less certain.
It
suggests the chemical targets the liver and is present in the breast
milk of rats. It also says the chemical could raise cholesterol and
triglyceride levels in people – a finding that chemical maker DuPont
Co. publicly released last week. DuPont said its study found no overall
health problems.
While
PFOA is used to make Teflon, it is not present in Teflon itself, which
is applied to cookware, clothing, car parts and flooring. PFOA also is
used to produce materials used in firefighting foam, phone cables and
computer chips.
EPA
officials emphasized that its assessment was preliminary, saying that
while the agency “has concerns with respect to the potential nationwide
presence of PFOA in blood and with the potential for developmental and
other effects suggested by animal studies, there are significant
uncertainties in the agency's quantitative assessment of the risks of
PFOA.”
The
Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization that brought
DuPont's record on PFOA to EPA's attention, said that based on other
studies of PFOA, it believes the potential cancer and heart disease
risks from the chemical are being played down too much.
“There is a more serious risk, we believe, than what EPA is discussing,” the group's spokeswoman, Lauren Sucher, said.
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