pradheep
3rd February 2006, 12:23 AM
EPA (Environment Pollution agency) Calls For Teflon Chemical Ban
Considering all the bad news stemming from DuPont's negligent behavior regarding perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) -- a chemical used to produce Teflon -- the EPA has asked eight manufacturers to eliminate their production of that toxic substance by 2015.
Sounds like great news, right? DuPont, already under the EPA radar for numerous environmental violations, has said it will comply. But, here's the catch: This cutback is completely voluntary, according to the Environmental Working Group, because the Toxic Substances Control Ban doesn't give the EPA the authority to enact a ban.
Hard to believe a chemical flowing through the bloodstreams of more than 95 percent of Americans and tied to so many common household products can't be legally banned by a federal agency like the EPA, but it's true.
Of course, there are less toxic alternatives, including a similar chemical made of four carbon atoms instead of the eight found in PFOA, that don't accumulate in your body under consideration.
For the sake of your health and that of your family, you should enact a Teflon ban in your home on cookware as well as paper products.
USA Today January 26, 2006
It's Official: Teflon is a ''Likely'' Carcinogen
Last week, the EPA urged companies ban their use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) -- a chemical used in making Teflon -- albeit voluntarily. An independent scientific review panel advising the EPA took it a step further yesterday, ruling Teflon and other non-stick and stain-resistant chemicals are "likely" carcinogens.
The panel's findings went beyond the EPA's current stance in two other major areas:
Future risk assessments involving PFOA should include its contribution to various cancers (liver, pancreatic, testicular and breast).
PFOA's effect on hormones as well as the immune and nervous systems must also be included in any risk assessment down the road and shouldn't be limited by age, species or gender.
The major upshot of the panel's final recommendations, according to the Environmental Working Group, was their belief far more stringent reporting was inarguable and "just good science." And it's rare for the EPA to overturn a review by an advisory board.
Of course, DuPont objects to the report, seeing nothing wrong with the EPA's for-right-now stance that PFOA poses no cancer risk to humans.
As I said last week, regardless what the EPA rules, I urge you to take matters into your own hands by enacting a ban on cookware and paper products tainted with PFOA.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-01-25-epa-pfoa_x.htm
Considering all the bad news stemming from DuPont's negligent behavior regarding perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) -- a chemical used to produce Teflon -- the EPA has asked eight manufacturers to eliminate their production of that toxic substance by 2015.
Sounds like great news, right? DuPont, already under the EPA radar for numerous environmental violations, has said it will comply. But, here's the catch: This cutback is completely voluntary, according to the Environmental Working Group, because the Toxic Substances Control Ban doesn't give the EPA the authority to enact a ban.
Hard to believe a chemical flowing through the bloodstreams of more than 95 percent of Americans and tied to so many common household products can't be legally banned by a federal agency like the EPA, but it's true.
Of course, there are less toxic alternatives, including a similar chemical made of four carbon atoms instead of the eight found in PFOA, that don't accumulate in your body under consideration.
For the sake of your health and that of your family, you should enact a Teflon ban in your home on cookware as well as paper products.
USA Today January 26, 2006
It's Official: Teflon is a ''Likely'' Carcinogen
Last week, the EPA urged companies ban their use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) -- a chemical used in making Teflon -- albeit voluntarily. An independent scientific review panel advising the EPA took it a step further yesterday, ruling Teflon and other non-stick and stain-resistant chemicals are "likely" carcinogens.
The panel's findings went beyond the EPA's current stance in two other major areas:
Future risk assessments involving PFOA should include its contribution to various cancers (liver, pancreatic, testicular and breast).
PFOA's effect on hormones as well as the immune and nervous systems must also be included in any risk assessment down the road and shouldn't be limited by age, species or gender.
The major upshot of the panel's final recommendations, according to the Environmental Working Group, was their belief far more stringent reporting was inarguable and "just good science." And it's rare for the EPA to overturn a review by an advisory board.
Of course, DuPont objects to the report, seeing nothing wrong with the EPA's for-right-now stance that PFOA poses no cancer risk to humans.
As I said last week, regardless what the EPA rules, I urge you to take matters into your own hands by enacting a ban on cookware and paper products tainted with PFOA.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-01-25-epa-pfoa_x.htm