Making Teflon's poisons stick less

DuPont's Web site boasts: "When you see the Teflon® logo or "seal," you are guaranteed to get the quality, durability and performance you need for easier cooking and cleanup." And thanks to Teflon, like 95 percent of Americans you're probably also guaranteed to carry a poison in your blood. You don't cook with nonstick pans? Neither do sea creatures and polar bears, whose bloodstreams also contain perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which is used to make Teflon and may help to cause cancer.

PFOA fights grease. You'll find it in non-staining clothing, frozen food containers, and microwave popcorn bags. The clunky stovetop popper my mom used for her popcorn has never seemed so clean—and she's always shunned Teflon cookware for the kind of cast-iron pans that cartoon characters use to whack each other on the head.

Today the EPA and chemical giants, including DuPont, agreed that PFOA can't be released so much into the environment via factory waste—though it can still be used in products in smaller amounts. People who worked around PFOA in factories have sued after developing cancer and having kids with birth defects. 

DuPont has a dark environmental history and just had to pay the EPA for failing to be straight about PFOA's dangers. But DuPont's taking bigger steps than most chemical companies to develop clean alternatives to its products. Maybe you're convinced to jump on the cast-iron cookware bandwagon, though the vintage Griswold pieces are already fetching high prices on eBay. Can you safely recycle Teflon pans? Not where my mom lives, at least. Do you know what to do with this junk? (via the Washington Post)

Comments

[pharmacy]

excellent , I think that this is really good!

[Cialis Online]

in fact to me this is the best material to buy all the pots and pans in my house, many people warning me about the danger of use this, allegedly this material release little amount of some toxics sustance in the food.

[Sexy Underwear]

"People who worked around PFOA in factories have sued after developing cancer and having kids with birth defects." That's terrible.

[Staying green]

This is an important message to get out. I have a parrot. If you ever wonder how dangerous teflon is, just ask a bird owner about it. Teflon is a major lung hazard to birds. Interestingly enough birds were used in mines to test how poisonous the air was. So if teflon is poisonous to birds, well....

[Shelly]

Thank you so much for this info. I am transferring to the cast iron myself and was wondering what to do with the old teflon pans. This was very helpful even though there seems to be no place for them yet. I will continue to look.

On another note... your blog is FABULOUS. It is important information. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the world. I intend to share our blog over at w.zaadz.com if you don't mind. There is a huge community of people who can benefit from your posts.

Thanks again,
Shelly Horten
Las Vegas, NV