Fwd: [SecretsNowRevealed] US Urged to Put Warning Labels on Teflon Pans

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know the range of heat an average pan will experience while cooking

average dishes?

Be Well,

Misty

http://www..com

 

U.S. Urged to Put Warning Labels on Teflon Pans

 

http://story.news./news?

tmpl=story & cid=585 & ncid=585 & e=2 & u=/nm/20030515/sc_nm/health_teflon_dc

 

By Christopher Doering

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An environmental group on Thursday asked the Consumer

Product Safety Commission (news - web sites) to require that cookware coated

with Teflon and similar chemicals carry a label

describing potential health risks of the non-stick coating.

 

The Environmental Working Group said in a study released on Thursday

that cookware coated with Teflon-like coatings could reach 700

degrees Fahrenheit in 3-5 minutes, releasing 15 toxic gases and

chemicals, including two carcinogens.

 

In its study, the advocacy group said that internal documents from

DuPont Co., which produces Teflon, show that toxic particles that can

kill birds are given off at temperatures as low as 464 degrees.

 

Because of the threat to birds, and possibly humans, each pan should

carry a label detailing the potential health risks, the advocacy

group said.

 

Studies investigating the long-term impacts on humans have not been

conducted. Still, Teflon and other nonstick chemicals can lead to flu-

like systems such as fever or shortness of breath, a condition called

polymer fume fever.

 

" If Teflon fumes kill birds, what do they do to people? " said Jane

Houlihan, a vice president with the Environmental Working Group who

said consumers often exceed 500 degrees Fahrenheit when they cook.

 

DuPont has long acknowledged that cookware heated below 500 degrees

is harmful to birds, but not humans because the chemical has not yet

begun to break apart.

 

A company official said it is not safe to use cookware in

temperatures above 500 degrees, and most consumers rarely exceed this

level while cooking as the group argued.

 

" We know of no adverse conditions or long-term affects associated

with polymer fume fever, and if that were the case, we would have

known about it and would have reported it, " said Cliff Web, a

spokesman for DuPont.

 

In April, the Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites)

launched an in-depth study to determine the safety of chemical C8,

which is used in hundreds of products including Teflon.

 

Government officials said toxicity concerns have been raised, but

there is currently no proof the chemical causes developmental or

reproductive harm in humans as the Environmental Working Group and

others have argued.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plus - For a better Internet experience