OT Teflon IS Dangerous New York Times Report

[Guest guest]

Hi,

This is for those of your who breathe or have critters that do. =) People

with kids or birds should pay especailly close attention.

Robin in NC

 

 

DuPont, Now in the Frying Pan

By AMY CORTESE

 

Published: August 8, 2004

 

EFLON has been hugely successful for DuPont, which over the last

half-century has made the material almost ubiquitous, putting it not just on

frying pans

but also on carpets, fast-food packaging, clothing, eyeglasses and

electrical wires - even the fabric roofs covering football stadiums.

Advertisement

 

 

Now DuPont has to worry that Teflon and the materials used to make it have

perhaps become a bit too ubiquitous. Teflon constituents have found their way

into rivers, soil, wild animals and humans, the company, government

environmental officials and others say. Evidence suggests that some of the

materials,

known to cause cancer and other problems in animals, may be making people

sick.

While it remains one of DuPont's most valuable assets, Teflon has also become

a potentially huge liability. The Environmental Protection Agency filed a

complaint last month charging the company with withholding evidence of its own

health and environmental concerns about an important chemical used to

manufacture Teflon. That would be a violation of federal environmental law,

compounded by the possibility that DuPont covered up the evidence for two

decades.

DuPont contends that it met its legal reporting obligations, and said that it

plans to file a formal response this week.

If an E.P.A. administrative judge does not agree, the agency could fine the

company up to $25,000 a day from the time DuPont learned of potential problems

with the chemical two decades ago until Jan. 30, 1997, when the agency's

fines were raised, and $27,500 a day since then. The total penalty could reach

$300 million. The agency is also investigating whether the suspect chemical, a

detergentlike substance called perfluorooctanoic acid, is harmful to human

health, and how it has become so pervasive in the environment. The chemical -

which is more commonly known as PFOA or C-8, for the number of carbon atoms

in its molecular structure - has turned up in the blood of more than 90

percent of Americans, according to samples taken from blood banks by the 3M

Company

beginning in the mid-90's. Until it got out of the business in 2000, 3M was

the biggest supplier of PFOA. DuPont promptly announced it would begin making

the substance itself.

The E.P.A. is auditing 3M to determine if there were any civil violations of

environmental law involving its chemically related products, Cynthia Bergman,

a spokeswoman for the agency, said. The E.P.A.'s action on July 8 prompted

the Chinese government to begin its own study on the safety of Teflon, and

some stores there pulled Teflon-coated pans from their shelves, the

government-run China Daily newspaper reported.

SOME people who live in or near Parkersburg, W.Va., where DuPont has

manufactured Teflon for 50 years, are not waiting for more studies. Thousands of

them have joined in a class-action suit filed in Wood County, W.Va., Circuit

Court against the chemical maker, which they charge knowingly contaminated the

air, land and water around the plant for decades without informing the

community. The chemical has been found in the public drinking water at levels

exceeding a longtime internal guideline considered safe by DuPont. The trial is

scheduled to begin next month.

DuPont is contesting the accusations, and insists that neither PFOA nor

Teflon poses risks to humans. " The evidence from over 50 years of experience and

extensive scientific studies supports our conclusion that PFOA does not harm

human health or the environment, " said Stacey J. Mobley, general counsel of

DuPont, in a statement responding to the E.P.A. ruling.

Critics say they will press their fight against the company because PFOA does

not break down in the environment or in the human body, so the material that

has been released could pose a health threat for many years. " This is an

issue that won't go away for DuPont, because this chemical will not go away, "

said Jane Houlihan, vice president for research at the Environmental Working

Group, an organization in Washington that is DuPont's most vocal critic.

 

_Subscribe Today: Home Delivery of The Times from $2.90/wk._

(http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto & page=www.nytimes.com/yr\

/mo/day/busine

ss/yourmoney & pos=CircBottom & camp=nytcirc_footerb & ad=today-circulation

..html & goto=http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentSe

rver?pagename=user%2FContentMgt%2FPromoFeature%2FPromoFeatureT1P & ExternalMedia

Code=W93AA)

Continued

1 | _2_ (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/08/

business/yourmoney/08teflon.html?pagewanted=2 & adxnnl=0 & adxnnlx=1092103203-U9zVQK\

tIbs3cD6i1qU7rpg) | _3_

(http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/08/business/yourmoney/08teflon.html?pagewanted=3\

& adxn

nl=0 & adxnnlx=1092103203-U9zVQKtIbs3cD6i1qU7rpg) | _Next>>_

(http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/08/business/yourmoney/08teflon.html?pagewanted=2\

& adxnnl=0 & adxnn

lx=1092103203-U9zVQKtIbs3cD6i1qU7rpg)

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

There's a great book I saw at Barnes & Noble called " EVERYTHING is bad

for you " . They mentioned teflon, amongst other things.

 

 

 

 

, rwhitt1212@a... wrote:

> Hi,

> This is for those of your who breathe or have critters that do. =)

People

> with kids or birds should pay especailly close attention.

> Robin in NC

>

>

> DuPont, Now in the Frying Pan

> By AMY CORTESE

>

> Published: August 8, 2004

>

> EFLON has been hugely successful for DuPont, which over the last

> half-century has made the material almost ubiquitous, putting it

not just on frying pans

> but also on carpets, fast-food packaging, clothing, eyeglasses and

> electrical wires - even the fabric roofs covering football

stadiums.

> Advertisement

>

>

> Now DuPont has to worry that Teflon and the materials used to make

it have

> perhaps become a bit too ubiquitous. Teflon constituents have found

their way

> into rivers, soil, wild animals and humans, the company, government

> environmental officials and others say. Evidence suggests that some

of the materials,

> known to cause cancer and other problems in animals, may be making

people

> sick.

> While it remains one of DuPont's most valuable assets, Teflon has

also become

> a potentially huge liability. The Environmental Protection Agency

filed a

> complaint last month charging the company with withholding evidence

of its own

> health and environmental concerns about an important chemical used to

> manufacture Teflon. That would be a violation of federal

environmental law,

> compounded by the possibility that DuPont covered up the evidence

for two decades.

> DuPont contends that it met its legal reporting obligations, and

said that it

> plans to file a formal response this week.

> If an E.P.A. administrative judge does not agree, the agency could

fine the

> company up to $25,000 a day from the time DuPont learned of

potential problems

> with the chemical two decades ago until Jan. 30, 1997, when the

agency's

> fines were raised, and $27,500 a day since then. The total penalty

could reach

> $300 million. The agency is also investigating whether the suspect

chemical, a

> detergentlike substance called perfluorooctanoic acid, is harmful

to human

> health, and how it has become so pervasive in the environment. The

chemical -

> which is more commonly known as PFOA or C-8, for the number of

carbon atoms

> in its molecular structure - has turned up in the blood of more

than 90

> percent of Americans, according to samples taken from blood banks

by the 3M Company

> beginning in the mid-90's. Until it got out of the business in

2000, 3M was

> the biggest supplier of PFOA. DuPont promptly announced it would

begin making

> the substance itself.

> The E.P.A. is auditing 3M to determine if there were any civil

violations of

> environmental law involving its chemically related products, Cynthia

Bergman,

> a spokeswoman for the agency, said. The E.P.A.'s action on July 8

prompted

> the Chinese government to begin its own study on the safety of

Teflon, and

> some stores there pulled Teflon-coated pans from their shelves, the

> government-run China Daily newspaper reported.

> SOME people who live in or near Parkersburg, W.Va., where DuPont has

> manufactured Teflon for 50 years, are not waiting for more studies.

Thousands of

> them have joined in a class-action suit filed in Wood County, W.Va.,

Circuit

> Court against the chemical maker, which they charge knowingly

contaminated the

> air, land and water around the plant for decades without informing the

> community. The chemical has been found in the public drinking water

at levels

> exceeding a longtime internal guideline considered safe by DuPont.

The trial is

> scheduled to begin next month.

> DuPont is contesting the accusations, and insists that neither PFOA

nor

> Teflon poses risks to humans. " The evidence from over 50 years of

experience and

> extensive scientific studies supports our conclusion that PFOA does

not harm

> human health or the environment, " said Stacey J. Mobley, general

counsel of

> DuPont, in a statement responding to the E.P.A. ruling.

> Critics say they will press their fight against the company because

PFOA does

> not break down in the environment or in the human body, so the

material that

> has been released could pose a health threat for many years. " This

is an

> issue that won't go away for DuPont, because this chemical will not

go away, "

> said Jane Houlihan, vice president for research at the

Environmental Working

> Group, an organization in Washington that is DuPont's most vocal

critic.

>

> _Subscribe Today: Home Delivery of The Times from $2.90/wk._

>

(http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto & page=www.nytimes.com/yr\

/mo/day/busine

>

ss/yourmoney & pos=CircBottom & camp=nytcirc_footerb & ad=today-circulation

>

..html & goto=http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentSe

>

rver?pagename=user%2FContentMgt%2FPromoFeature%2FPromoFeatureT1P & ExternalMedia

> Code=W93AA)

> Continued

> 1 | _2_ (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/08/

>

business/yourmoney/08teflon.html?pagewanted=2 & adxnnl=0 & adxnnlx=1092103203-U9zVQK\

tIbs3cD6i1qU7rpg)

| _3_

>

(http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/08/business/yourmoney/08teflon.html?pagewanted=3\

& adxn

> nl=0 & adxnnlx=1092103203-U9zVQKtIbs3cD6i1qU7rpg) | _Next>>_

>

(http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/08/business/yourmoney/08teflon.html?pagewanted=2\

& adxnnl=0 & adxnn

> lx=1092103203-U9zVQKtIbs3cD6i1qU7rpg)

>

>

>

>