WP,pg1: Harmful Teflon Chemical To Be Eliminated by 2015

[DeepModem Mom]

Harmful Teflon Chemical To Be Eliminated by 2015
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 26, 2006; Page A01


Eight U.S. companies, including giant DuPont Co., agreed yesterday to virtually eliminate a harmful chemical used to make Teflon from all consumer products coated with the ubiquitous nonstick material.

Although the chemical would still be used to manufacture Teflon and similar products, processes will be developed to ensure that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) would not be released into the environment from finished products or manufacturing plants.

PFOA -- a key processing agent in making nonstick and stain-resistant materials -- has been linked to cancer and birth defects in animals and is in the blood of 95 percent of Americans, including pregnant women. It has also been found in the blood of marine organisms and Arctic polar bears.

The voluntary pact, which was crafted by the Environmental Protection Agency, will force companies to reduce manufacturing emissions of PFOA by 95 percent by no later than 2010. They will also have to reduce trace amounts of the compound in consumer products by 95 percent during the same period and virtually eliminate them by 2015.

The agreement will dramatically reduce the extent to which PFOA shows up in a wide variety of everyday products, including pizza boxes, nonstick pans and microwave-popcorn bags....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/25/AR2006012502041.html

[rooboy]

1. The voluntary pact... n/t

[ClintonTyree]

2. And they've been using this since Teflon was invented.........

I use stainless steel cookware, none of that Teflon shit for me. I learned about that decades ago and NOW they're finally going to do something about it? :eyes: And it's "voluntary", yeah, I have every faith that these companies will comply.

[Kookaburra]

4. Yeah, we quit using teflon coated stuff

when we found out it was harmful to birds to be in the same room where you were cooking on teflon. That's just plain dangerous stuff. Besides, if you season it correctly, cast iron makes excellent cookware.

[0007]

3. Why wait nine years if it has been linked to cancer and birth defects?

[MrPrax]

5. No hurry...2015 is fine

But if it's voluntary, then dollars to donuts they won't even reach the 2010 deadline...

It's basically politicians saying, 'you do what you want, we wouldn't dare raise the risk of public health at the expense of profits'...perish the thought.

[kurth]

6. Just use cast iron

Cast-iron skillets are great with proper care, and they last forever.