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Dear Dr. Oppitz,
What is your opinion on Teflon coated cookware?
C.W., Billings
Perfluorooctanoic
(PFOA) is a chemical found in products including clothing, stain
repellents, food packaging, microwave popcorn bags, firefighting foam,
phone cables, electrical insulating tape, combustion engines, and
cosmetics; it is also a component of Teflon production. Roughly 70% of the cookware sold in the U.S. has a
nonstick coating.
Current PFOA
exposures in children may be well above safe levels, and some children have
high enough blood levels of PFOA to cause serious toxicity in laboratory
studies. PFOA has been found in the
blood of 90% of Americans, some at levels as high as those found in PFOA
workers.
The EPA reviewed PFOA
after “unexpected toxicological and bioaccumulation discoveries” in the
entire class of perfluorinated chemicals—prompted
by the removal of Scotchgard from the market in
2000. According to a risk assessment from the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), even low-level exposure to PFOA poses developmental and
reproductive risks to humans.
Scientific advisers
to the EPA have unanimously voted to approve a recommendation that PFOA
should be considered a likely carcinogen. An independent advisory panel to the EPA
also recently ruled PFOA a likely carcinogen. Additionally, the EPA has called for a
voluntary ban on the production of PFOA.
The ban is voluntary because the Toxic Substances Control Ban does not
give the EPA authority to enact a ban.
In animal studies,
PFOA has been associated with:
·
Serious changes in the weight of various organs (brain, prostate,
liver, thymus, and kidneys)
·
Damage to the pituitary
·
Risk of organ tumors (liver, pancreas, testicles, mammary gland)
·
Altered thyroid hormone regulation
·
Damage to the immune system
·
Reproductive problems and birth defects
Among PFOA workers,
there is a higher incidence of birth defects and prostate cancer.
PFOA does not break
down in the environment. Other
classes of chemicals break down into PFOA as well, which means that even if
PFOA were banned, levels of the substance in the environment could still
increase due to the other chemicals.
Teflon begins to
break down at temperatures above 500 degrees; at this temperature it
releases small particles that can create a polyfume
fever in humans and kill birds. At
temperatures above 600 degrees there is emission of particles which can be
lethal. Never preheat a pan utilizing a temperature over medium heat; it is
best if there is food in the pan while it is heating up; if you choose to
continue to use non-stick cookware, use a premium pan such as the
Ceramic-Titanium “Scan Pan”. Also
always cook with a fan on in the kitchen and/or in a well ventilated
kitchen.
From Cooks Illustrated, May/June 2005, Volume
74, page 19: “An inexpensive $15.00 pan heated quickly and empty,
achieved toxic temperature in 2 minutes, and over 600 degrees in 3
minutes. All Clad non-stick ($140),
if heated empty took 3 minutes to reach toxic temperatures, and over 600
degrees in 5 minutes.”
PFOA is not the only
toxic chemical you need to avoid.
Less than 10% of approximately 80,000 chemicals used commercially
are regulated by the EPA. Industry
is not required to conduct safety tests on chemicals like PFOA in order to
sell or use them.
Yellowstone Naturopathic
Clinic
720 N. 30th St.
Billings, MT 59101
PHONE 406·259·5096/FAX 406·248·5655
ync@180com.net
Dispensary
406·254·9682
dispensary@yncnaturally.com
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