In 1938, DuPont chemist Roy Plunkett accidentally discovered a waxy powder with a remarkably slippery quality. DuPont first used the substance to coat machine gears and bearings. But in 1960, the new coating was approved for use on cookware, and Teflon became a household word.
Today, 60 percent of our pots and pans are non-stick, as are a great many cookie sheets, muffin tins, cake pans, waffle irons, bread makers, deep fryers and drip pans for stove-top burners. Teflon is ubiquitous for a reason – it’s lightweight, allows you to cook with significantly less oil, and (the best part) cleans up in a snap. What’s not to love?
Unfortunately, quite a bit. It all starts with a chemical called PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), the primary ingredient used to make Teflon and other slippery, high-tech plastics called fluoropolymers. (PFOA is also used to make another group of plastics called fluorotelomers, which helps carpets and other products resist stains, water and grease.)
When Teflon is manufactured, PFOA is released into the environment. As far back as 1981, DuPont had evidence that PFOA contamination was causing some serious problems. In animals, it caused cancer, immune system damage and even death. In humans, including some of the employees at DuPont’s West Virginia plant, PFOA was implicated in serious birth defects and other health problems. For 20 years, DuPont buried this information and failed to report findings to the EPA, an omission that cost DuPont $16.5 million in fines. In 2001, residents living near the West Virginia plant sued DuPont and won more than $80 million in the settlement. Despite the legal rebuke, the company claims no liability.
In 2006, after examining the research, an EPA advisory panel labeled PFOA a ‘likely human carcinogen.’ What’s worse: PFOA doesn’t go away – once in the environment, it’s capable of persisting for thousands of years. And its effects are far-reaching. The chemical has been found in blood samples of more than 90 percent of children and adults tested in the U.S. and Europe. PFOA has even been detected in Arctic polar bears.
Some experts believe that most of our exposure to PFOA comes not from cookware, but originates instead from the family of fluorotelomers added to many of our everyday products, including stain-resistant clothing, carpets and upholstery, as well as grease-resistant microwave popcorn packages and take-out containers. And when you’re communing with nature on a powder day, you can thank fluorotelemers for keeping you dry in your Gore-Tex jacket.
So how much PFOA do we actually absorb from cookware? DuPont maintains that, in the process of applying the non-stick coating to a pan, virtually all of the PFOA is driven off. If a non-stick lining begins to flake, they claim, the particle will pass right through you because Teflon is inert at body temperatures.
But stove-top temperatures are another story, and this is where things (excuse the pun) get sticky. When Teflon is heated to high temperatures, it offgasses toxic chemicals. DuPont’s own research shows that Teflon will offgas toxic particulates at 445 degrees, though they claim that, ‘significant decomposition of coating will occur only when temperatures exceed about 660 degrees.’
Though DuPont considers such temperatures above the normal cooking range, research shows that a pan preheated for two to five minutes on high can easily exceed 600 degrees. Some of you may be Martha Stewart in the kitchen. But for those of us who routinely set off the smoke alarm while making a grilled cheese, Teflon may not be such a good match. Just one distraction and an overheated pan can release up to six toxic gasses, including two carcinogens. Stove-top drip pans can reach temperatures up to 1000 degrees, releasing two scary gasses – a chemical warfare agent and the chemical equivalent of the WWII nerve gas phosgene.
For humans, such offgassing can result in ‘polymer fume fever,’ a sickness resembling the flu. For pet birds, this ‘Teflon toxicosis’ is deadly, causing birds to suffocate by hemorrhaging in the lungs. Tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group indicate that hundreds, possibly thousands of pet birds may have died of Teflon toxicosis, unbeknownst to their owners. DuPont lab experiments show that birds are killed when Teflon is heated to 536 degrees, but other studies show this threshold to be as low as 396 degrees.
Non-stick cookware is not required to carry any kind of warning label indicating its threat to pet birds or its potential to offgas dangerous chemicals when overheated. Though the FDA approved the use of Teflon for cookware, they do not regulate Teflon’s use, nor have they, or DuPont, ever assessed its safety.
The EPA, however, is taking action. In January 2006, the agency initiated a global stewardship program, calling for companies to reduce their use of PFOA by 95 percent by the year 2010. The EPA’s advisory panel wants to see the chemical eliminated by 2015. DuPont has agreed to reduce emissions released into the environment during manufacture but makes no promises to stop using PFOA.
Until then, there are a number of steps you can take to protect yourself, your family and pets from the potentially dangerous fumes caused by overheated Teflon.
1. The safest option is to replace your non-stick cookware, preferably now (if you can afford it) or when your current set wears out. See sidebar for safer alternatives.
2. Use non-stick pans only on low to moderate heat and do not leave a pre-heating pan unattended.
3. When frying, add water to the pan to absorb and disperse heat.
4. Use the exhaust fan when cooking.
5. Follow manufacturer’s instructions for the care and cleaning of non-stick products. Avoid utensils, scrubbers and cleansers that could scratch the coating.
6. Replace cookware if it starts to flake. Flaking has been found to accelerate toxic emissions.
7. If you have pet birds, avoid non-stick cookware altogether.
Safer Cookware Alternatives
• Stainless Steel. A poor conductor, but works well when copper or aluminum is sandwiched or ‘clad’ in the middle. Durable, easy to clean and non-reactive with acidic foods. Contains nickel, to which some people are sensitive or allergic.
• Glass. The safest and least reactive, but a poor conductor. Best used in the oven.
• Cast Iron. Good, even conductor of heat. Heavy. Must be seasoned to prevent sticking. Imparts iron and can alter taste when used to cook acidic foods (tomato, lemon, vinegar, applesauce, rhubarb). Cast iron covered in porcelain enamel is easier to care for.
• Copper. Excellent heat conductor, but expensive. Older pots tended to leach copper into food. Our bodies need some copper, but too much causes vomiting, nausea and diarrhea. Newer copper pots are often coated with stainless to solve this problem.
• Aluminum (non-anodized). Excellent heat conductor, but acidic foods can dissolve aluminum into the food. The health effects of aluminum are unknown. Although it appears that aluminum is not related to Alzheimer’s disease, the issue remains hotly contested.
• Anodized aluminum. Has been dipped in a hot acid bath to change its molecular structure and create a non-stick, scratch-proof surface that reduces (or eliminates, according to some sources) leaching of aluminum. Does not react with acidic foods. Some doctors recommend passing on aluminum altogether and opting for stainless.
• Carbon steel. Heats quickly, handles high temperatures, and imparts iron into food. Reacts with acidic foods to alter taste. Can’t be cleaned with soap or scouring pads.
Linda is a 20-year Tahoe resident and mother of one. She has a degree in Natural Resources and has worked in environmental education, forestry and wilderness planning. Contact Linda at 587.3607.
