The Teflon® trademark was coined by DuPont and registered in 1945; the first products were sold commercially under the trademark beginning in 1946. Applications and product innovations snowballed quickly. Marketed as non-stick and convenient, the term "Teflon" is now a household name. The nonstick pans, many of which are manufactured by DuPont, are a popular choice.

On May 16, 2000, the 3M corporation stunned the rest of the chemical industry with an unexpected announcement: It had decided to stop producing a family of compounds used in Scotchgard, Teflon, and a host of other consumer products. Saying that the "perfluorochemicals" it had manufactured for half a century had been found to persist in human blood and wildlife, 3M portrayed its move as that of a conscientious corporate citizen. Read more.

Is Nonstick Cookware Safe?

DuPont acknowledges that the fumes given off by non-stick coatings can also sicken people, in a condition called "polymer fume fever", which can be erroneously diagnosed as the common flu. No one has never studied the incidence of illness among users of the billions of non-stick pots and pans sold around the world, or the long-term effects from the sickness.

While DuPont acknowledges that its nonstick coatings begin to deteriorate when the cookware reaches about 500 degrees, it notes that those temperatures are higher than typical cooking heats. And while it admits that birds may be harmed by the fumes, the company maintains that its pans are safe under normal use.

Non-stick pans have never been meant for high-heat cooking, as the instructions on any pan label will show. "We recommend cooking using coated non-stick cookware at low to medium heat," says Dupont's Rich Angiullo. "We know (our product) can withstand temperatures up to 500 F, well above any of the recommended temperatures for frying or baking."

But recommendations and reality don't always coincide, says Environmental Working Group president Ken Cook. "We're still searching for the person who has never left a pan on a stove top and had it get real hot." Engineers with Underwriters Laboratories say that all UL-certified electric ranges should bring a pan to 475 degrees when the knob is turned to two-thirds high, and that maximum heat would probably exceed 600-650 degrees.

It's Everywhere - Major Products And Brands

Teflon® has been involved in the U.S. space program since the program's infancy. When astronaut Neil Armstrong took his historic "giant leap for mankind" in 1969, the moon module included numerous applications involving Teflon® resin, including space suits and blankets, heat shields, insulation and cargo hold liners.

Teflon® is used in many applications for computer chip manufacture because it is very inert and non-reactive. It's used in filters to keep air clean, in chip carriers, and virtually all tubing and piping in the semiconductor industry. DuPont Teflon® is the dominant brand used in the industry and DuPont has supplied Teflon® to that market since its inception.

As a fiber, Teflon® is used to manufacture socks that reduce friction and blisters. Recently approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration., these are especially crucial for diabetics, people with circulatory problems, geriatric needs, obesity and sensitive skin. It's also used in children's clothing, sportswear, bedding, towels, shower curtains and upholstery. It's used in military clothing and uniforms for school children and sports clothing. Major fashion designers and brands that use Teflon® fabric protector include: Hugo Boss, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Nautica, Yeohlee, Kenneth Cole, Woolrich, Pendleton, Koret, The Gap, J. Crew, L.L. Bean, Eddie Bauer, Robert Allen Beacon Hill Fabrics and Lee Jofa Fabrics, among others. Technology based on Teflon® also is used to repel dirt and spills from DuPont StainMaster® carpet.

Teflon® is used to coat fiberglass fabrics for permanent architectural structures such as the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, Michigan, and the Orange Bowl at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. Teflon® is in the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor as an insulator and lubricator between the copper skin and the stainless steel skeleton. Teflon® in a composite sheet form with graphite is used for bearing pads in the George Washington Bridge in New York State to prevent corrosion of the steel plates.

Packaged food and fast food containers are coated with PFCs to keep grease from soaking through the packaging. PFCs are used in a wide variety of containers, including french fry boxes, pizza boxes and microwave popcorn bags.

To see more products that use teflon®: http://www.nethorde.com/teflon/

http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Teflon/Teflon-HistoryDuPont.htm

What Can You Do to Minimize Your Exposure?

For now, the EPA says it's too early to advise consumers to toss out their nonstick cookware. If you want to take precautions in the meantime, you could set aside your nonstick pots and pans until the EPA has finished its study.

If you do use (non-stick) cookware, don't let it sit on the burner for long before adding food. Doing so may permit the temperature to rise high enough to emit chemical fumes. Avoid cooking at high temperatures with nonstick cookware. Use low to medium temperatures instead. And don't forget to keep your pet birds out of the kitchen.

Here are some tips from the EWG:

• Phase out the use of non-stick cookware and other equipment that is heated in your home. If you can afford to replace it now, do so. When heated to high temperatures, Products with PFC coatings emit fumes that can be harmful.
• Do not use non-stick cookware in your home if you have pet birds. In fact, avoid any kitchen equipment that contains non-stick components that are heated to high temperature during use. Fumes from these materials can quickly kill birds.
• When you purchase furniture or carpet, decline optional treatments for stain and dirt resistance, and find products that have not been pre-treated with chemicals by questioning the retailers. Most of these chemical treatments contain PFCs that might contaminate your home and family.
• Avoid buying clothing that bears a label or other indication that it has been coated for water, stain, or dirt repellency. Many of these coatings are PFCs. By buying alternatives you will help shrink the PFC economy and the associated global contamination.
• Minimize packaged food and greasy fast foods in your diet. These can be held in containers that are coated with PFCs to keep grease from soaking through the packaging. PFCs are used in a wide variety of containers, including french fry boxes, pizza boxes and microwave popcorn bags.
• Avoid buying cosmetics and other personal care products with the phrase "fluoro" or "perfluoro" on the ingredient list. Among products that might contain PFCs are lotions, pressed powders, nail polish, and shaving cream.

Resources:
PFCs: Global Contaminants, Environmental Working Group
EWG's listing of products that are coated with Teflon and Scotchgard.
PFOA Q's & A's, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (PDF file)
Scientists Raise Concerns About PFOS, Our Stolen Future

http://www.ewg.org/reports/pfcworld/part10.php#you

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2003-04-23-teflon-usat_x.htm

Impact Of Teflon On Human Health

The EWG review finds that PFCs have contaminated the blood of;virtually every American, the environment and wildlife, and supports EPA's;findings that the associated chemicals presents health risks for women ;and girls. "These chemicals have been in use for 50 years, they've found their;way into the body of every American, and we're just now starting to understand ;the health effects. That means we need a better system for testing industrial;chemicals' health effects -- before we permit their use," said EWG Senior;Scientist Kris Thayer.;

Environmental Working Group (EWG) scientists spent the last three years;reviewing 50,000 pages of regulatory studies and government documents;obtained from EPA; internal industry documents disclosed in ongoing;litigation; and a growing body of independent studies on the toxicity and;environmental occurrence of perfluorochemicals (PFCs). The chemical,;abbreviated in scientific literature as PFOA, is also known as C-8 at the;DuPont Company, which manufactures it. A Canadian study in 2001;discovered C8 was one of the chemicals released when Teflon is heated ;repeatedly. The EPA is still collecting data, and it could be several months;before the agency concludes its investigation. "We just don't have answers;right now," says EPA spokesman David Deegan.

What's Being Done Elsewhere?

Although some exposures to PFCs are unavoidable, there are two differing attitudes about how new technology should be evaluated. Historically in this country we've applied a risk-benefit analysis — do the potential benefits of the technology outweigh the potential risks? Most businesses evaluate their products on this basis.

Consumer advocates, environmentalists and the European community, however, are turning toward something called the precautionary principle. This is based on a German legal notion of the Vorsorgeprinzip, literally the "forecaring principle". Iin everyday language: Better safe than sorry. It started in Germany when laws were enacted to save forests by reducing the power plant emissions that cause acid rain. Draft legislation will soon be released by the European Union to require that over the next 11 years all chemicals be treated like new ones and be required to undergo safety testing.

Chemicals of highest concern because of their environmental infiltration, reproductive toxicity or carcinogenicity will be treated like drugs, meaning the system will presume they're dangerous and require applications for their use. The rules, if approved, would go into effect in 2005.