Gassen van teflon pannen zijn in staat om
een zangvogel tot zwijgen te brengen en de protesten tegen teflon in Amerika groeien met
de dag. De economische belangen voor Du Pont zijn enorm want 70% van alle pannen hebben
deze coating. Maar het gros van de Amerikanen blijkt nu de stof PFOA in het bloed te
hebben. Deze stof wordt nu door de overheid gezien als mogelijk kankerverwekkend.
Ben wel een beetje geschrokken van de
informatie die ik online kon vinden.
In Nederland sijpelt zulke informatie blijkbaar slecht door.
Teflon komt oa voor in:
keukengerei, kleren, computerchips en
telefoonkabels
Ron
Een blijde bezitter geworden van
een echte Scanpan
Ik ben lang op zoek geweest naar een goede
bakpan als alternatief voor die kankerverwekkende Teflon pannen. Maar recent ben ik de
trotse bezitter van een een Scanpan (titanium pan) uit Denemarken zonder Teflon coating en
met 10 jaar garantie. De pan is wel prijzen maar door een aktie kocht ik een 28cm pan voor
57,50 euro. Eitje en moot zalm getest en perfect bevallen.
Ron
We have introduced a PFOA-free
(perfluorooctanoic acid) process for our patented ceramic-titanium nonstick surface. Our
cookware has always been PFOA-free. However, the recent concerns linked to PFOA and its
environmental impact has prompted us to work closely with our suppliers to develop a PTFE
compound that would not require a PFOA emulsifier.
De opwarming van de aarde, de pollutie en
de vernietiging van het milieu zijn wereldwijd de belangrijkste problemen van onze tijd.
Wij kunnen er ieder van ons iets aan doen. Bijvoorbeeld door te koken met pannen die niet
langer schadelijke stoffen vrijlaten. En het is nog gezond ook. In tegenstelling tot
de klassiek op PTFE gebaseerde antikleef technologie (die PFOA gebruikt als een productie
element) wordt er bij de productie van kookpotten met Thermolon™ 50% minder
broeikasgassen uitgestoten. De op Thermolon™ gebaseerde kookpotten bevatten geen
toxische stoffen die zouden kunnen vrijkomen bij hoge temperaturen.
Temperatuur bestendig tot 450°C (850°F)
Bij oververhitting komen geen toxische dampen vrij
Antikleeflaag van hoge kwaliteit
Duurzame en hoge krasbestendigheid
0% PTFE & 0% PFOA
Milieuvriendelijke productie, beduidende vermindering van CO2 uitlaat tijdens het
productie en applicatie proces.
Nieuwe Amerikaanse studie wijst op
negatieve gevolgen voor de foetus door Teflon antiaanbaklaag in pannen
Study Shows Dupont's Teflon Products Are
Damaging Fetuses in the Womb
Chemicals used in stick- and
stain-resistant products are reaching children in the womb and may be tied to "small
decreases" in the size and weight of newborns, two studies by Johns Hopkins
University researchers indicate.
Teflon zonder perfluoroctaanzuur,
Dupont haalt bakzijl
Na veel druk van de Amerikaanse
milieubescherming hebben 8 grote bedrijven in de VS besloten de komende 4 jaar de
hoeveelheid perfluoroctaanzuur tot 95% te reduceren. De Amerikaanse chemie lobby die maar
liefst 21 miljoen dollar meebetaalde aan de Bush verkiezingscampagne heeft voor het eerst
het onderspit moeten delven. Dezelfde lobby heeft nog succesvol de Europese plannen
(Reach) voor nieuwe chemie wetgeving kunnen ondermijnen maar heeft nu bakzijl moet halen.
Studies naar PFOA toonden verbanden tussen de stof en kanker en geboorteafwijkingen aan.
Teflon chemical to be phased out 95
percent by 2010
Eight US chemical companies agreed at
the end of January to a partial phase-out of a harmful chemical used to make Teflon and
other non-stick products.
The deal to reduce the use of
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) resulted from pressure from the US Environmental Protection
Agency, an extremely rare example of government muscle applied to big business in an
otherwise regulation-averse Bush era. DuPont, which was fined $16m in December for hiding
evidence of PFOA’s health dangers, and seven other companies have agreed to
voluntarily reduce use of PFOA in products by 95 percent by 2010, with a full phase-out by
2015.
Studies have linked PFOA to cancer and
birth defects in animals; studies have also determined that the chemical is present in the
blood of 95 percent of Americans, including pregnant women. The phase-out of PFOA will
affect the lives of millions of Americans, eliminating or significantly reducing the
amount of the chemical in countless household products including stain-resistant finishes,
weatherproofing materials, waterproof clothing, phone cables and even pizza boxes and
microwave-popcorn bags. How many Britons have the chemical in their blood and the number
that will ultimately be affected is difficult to discover.
The settlement is unfortunately only a
small victory for consumers, who are faced with an ever-expanding list of inadequately
tested chemicals in common consumer products.
The settlement announcement was
especially surprising in light of the Bush administration’s close ties to the
chemical industry. The American Chemistry Council, the main industry lobby group, has
donated $21m to Bush’s election campaign since the start of the 2000 election.
More predictably, the administration
has broadly opposed regulation of environmental health issues and is currently trying to
halt comprehensive legislation on chemical policy in Europe. In December, European health
advocates suffered a serious blow when REACH - a progressive chemical policy reform bill
pending in the European Parliament - was significantly watered down after heavy lobbying
by the US chemical industry. As secretary of state, Colin Powell did the industry’s
bidding to help fight REACH, instructing diplomatic posts in Europe to oppose REACH
regulation. His communication to them essentially paraphrased industry statements opposing
the legislation.
Anti-aanbakpannen moet je mijden als de
pest. Ze zijn uiterst giftig.1. Het aanbrengen van een anti-aanbaklaag vraagt een uiterst
ingewikkeld chemisch proces. Want een laag die niet plakt, hechten aan een pan is niet zo
logisch. Ook de productie is bangelijk vervuilend. Fabrikant Du Pont is reeds akkoord om
$345 miljoen schadeloosstelling te betalen aan 60.000 inwoners van West Virgina en Ohio
wegens het vervuilen van leidingwater met PFOA, een chemische stof die gebruikt wordt bij
de productie van Teflon.2.
En zoals iedereen wel vermoedt: door het
gebruik komen er deeltjes van de anti-aanbakstof in onze gerechten terecht. Want wat de
fabrikanten telkens opnieuw ook mogen schreeuwen, anti-aanbakpannen verslijten wel
degelijk en ze verslijten snel. Zelfs als je ze correct gebruikt en je krassen tracht te
voorkomen, verslijten ze en komen er deeltjes in het eten en dus in je lichaam.3. Wat vele
mensen misschien niet
Het Amerikaanse milieuministerie EPA zie af van verdere vervolging van DuPont in de
perfluoroctaanzuur-affaire. De schikking kost het chemieconcern 16,5 miljoen dollar.
Volgens het EPA is het met afstand de hoogste boete die ooit onder de Amerkaanse federale
milieuwetgeving is uitgedeeld. Van het geld is 6,25 miljoen bestemd voor twee
milieuprojecten; de rest vloeit in de staatskas.
Perfluoroctaanzuur (PFOA) is een hulpstof
bij de bereiding van de kunststof PTFE, die door DuPont wordt verkocht onder de naam
Teflon. Of deze stof echt schadelijk is voor mensen staat niet vast. Wel is bekend dat hij
langzaam afbreekt, dat hij in de meeste menselijke lichamen is terug te vinden, en dat hij
in hoge concentraties de lever van ratten kan beschadigen. De klacht van het EPA had
betrekking op PFOA-lozingen vanuit Teflonfabrieken, via het afvalwater. Inmiddels heeft
DuPont de PFOA uitstoot met 98 procent teruggebracht, en in 2007 wil het bedrijf daar 99
procent van hebben gemaakt.
Intussen lopen er nog meer processen tegen
DuPont over PFOA. Consumentengroepen stellen dat er resten van het zuur in de kunststof
achterblijven. Hierdoor zou PFOA vrijkomen bij gebruik van koekenpannen met een
anti-aanbaklaag. Wetenschappelijk bewijs ontbreekt echter.
bronnen: Reuters en New York Times
Proces om teflon-pan
Twee Amerikaanse advocatenkantoren spannen een rechtszaak aan tegen DuPont. Het
chemieconcern zou jarenlang hebben verzwegen dat de teflon anti-aanbaklaag ziekten kan
veroorzaken. De kantoren Oppenheim Pilelsky en Kluger, Peretz, Kaplan en Berlin hebben hun
aanklacht gisteren ingediend.
De rechtszaak kan volgens hen betrekking
hebben op miljoenen consumenten die ooit een pan met teflon hebben gekocht. In de zaak
draait het erom of de chemiegigant meer dan twintig jaar lang heeft verzwegen dat
chemische componenten mensen in potentie ziek zouden kunnen maken.
Teflon is een belangrijk materiaal voor
DuPont en wordt gebruikt in pannen, voor de anti-aanbaklaag, maar ook in tapijten,
verpakkingen, kleren, zonnebrillen en elektrische bedrading.
Het chemieconcern DuPont hangt een boete
van miljoenen dollars boven het hoofd vanwege het achterhouden van informatie over de
giftige stof perfluoro-octaanzuur (PFOA), die wordt gebruikt voor de productie van Teflon.
Dit heeft het Amerikaanse Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) afgelopen week bekend
gemaakt. In theorie kan het EPA hiervoor een boete van zo’n 300 miljoen dollar in
rekening brengen.
Teflon. We kennen het eigenlijk allemaal.
Het is de merknaam van een kunststofverbinding: poly-tetra-fluoro-ethyleen oftewel PTFE.
Deze chemische verbinding werd ontdekt in 1938 door Roy Plunkett, een medewerker van de
firma DuPont³. Al in 1949 werd Teflon als commercieel product geïntroduceerd en gebruikt
voor vele doeleinden. Vandaag de dag is Teflon in bijna elk huishouden aanwezig. Denk maar
aan anti-aanbakpannen, wafelijzers, pannetjes van gourmetstellen, taartvormen of de
zooltjes van strijkijzers. Zelfs zelfreinigende ovens of speciale warmtelampen kunnen een
Teflon coating hebben.
(Ten overvloedde vermeld ik nog even dat
daar waar de merknaam "Teflon" in dit artikel geschreven staat, ook andere
merken of merkloze anti-aanbakpannen c.q. coatings bedoeld worden!) . Met name de laatste
jaren is Teflon bij veel vogelliefhebbers in een negatief daglicht komen te staan. Op de
vele vogelfora die het "world wide web" telt is het een "hot item" en
tegelijkertijd een bron van zorg. Regelmatig wordt dan ook de vraag gesteld: "hoe
schadelijk is Teflon voor mijn vogels?"
Zorg bij handelingen waarbij teflon warm
wordt voor voldoende locale ventilatie. Voer deze werkzaamheden indien mogelijk uit in de
kunststofverwerkingsruimte. Bij verhitting tot een temperatuur van 200 0C of
daarboven treedt een "thermische ontleding"op, waarbij vluchtige fluor
verbindingen ontstaan. Deze verbindingen zijn schadelijk voor de ademhalingsorganen en
kunnen longoedeem veroorzaken.
Veiligheidsboekje Faculteit der Exacte
Wetenschappen
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Deze vergiftiging zien we speciaal in deze
tijd van het jaar als het huis goed afgesloten is tegen de winterkoude en de ventilatie in
huis vaak gebrekkig is. De Teflon vergiftiging of beter polytetrafluoroethlyene (PTFE)
vergiftiging wordt veroorzaakt door een "gasachtige" verdamping van een
oververhitte "anti-aanbaklaag". Het merk Teflon is in deze niet de enige
schuldige. Ook andere merken kunnen bij oververhitting dezelfde problemen geven. We hebben
de problemen ook gezien bij andere apparatuur, w.o. een haarföhn, waarin PTFE is verwerkt
dat oververhit kan worden. Meestal betreft het een pan die op het vuur staat en vergeten
wordt en dan aanbrandt.
De studie ‘A Present for Life’
heeft ook de aanwezigheid in het bloed en de navelstrengen vastgesteld van moleculen die
gebruikt worden bij de productie van artificiële musks die onder andere in parfums
gebruikt worden, en van substanties die gebruikt worden voor de productie van
anti-kleeflagen van het type ‘Teflon’.
Weitz & Luxenberg Investigates
Lawsuits After DuPont Admits it Hid Studies Showing Chemical Risk
Manhattan environmental toxic tort law firm
Weitz & Luxenberg is preparing to help thousands of individuals who may have been
harmed by Zonyl, a chemical related to Teflon, which can break down into a toxin called
perfluorooctanoic acid. According to an article released by the Associated Press today,
DuPont Co. withheld information in studies showing that Zonyl can rub off food liners
designed to resist grease, like candy wrappers and microwave popcorn bags, and contaminate
food.
Once ingested, Zonyl breaks down into
perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA. The Environmental Protection Agency states, “Studies
indicated that PFOA can cause developmental and other adverse effects in laboratory
animals. PFOA also appears to remain in the human body for a long time.”
(http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/pfoa/pfoainfo.htm#concerns) The EPA is now deciding whether
to classify PFOA as a likely human carcinogen.
Glen Evers, a former DuPont employee and
technical expert for 22 years, publicly raised his concerns about PFOA in a news
conference at the office of the research and advocacy organization Environmental Working
Group. Evers, who lost his job in 2002 due to what DuPont described as a company
restructuring, said the chemicals in PFOA, “. . . are toxic. They get into human
blood.” Evers also expressed concerns that PFOA could cause birth defects. Later this
month, the EPA is scheduled to hold a hearing on the link between PFOA and birth defects.
Perfluorooctanoic Acid Human Health
Risk Assessment Review Panel (PFOA Review Panel)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics has been studying perfluorooctanoic acid
(PFOA) in order to understand the health and environmental impact of perfluorochemicals.
The EPA has completed its draft Risk Assessment of Potential Human Health Effects
Associated with PFOA and Its Salts, and the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) has been
asked to review and comment on the scientific soundness of this assessment.
Finally U.S. Government
Acknowledges How Dangerous Teflon Is
Scientific advisers to the EPA have voted to approve a recommendation
that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which is used to make Teflon and
various stain-resistant products, should be considered a likely carcinogen. http://www.mercola.com/2005/feb/28/teflon_is.htm
Tests with Teflon pans
In new tests conducted by a university food
safety professor, a generic non-stick frying pan preheated on a conventional, electric
stovetop burner reached 736°F in three minutes and 20 seconds, with temperatures still
rising when the tests were terminated. A Teflon pan reached 721°F in just five minutes
under the same test conditions, as measured by a commercially available infrared
thermometer. DuPont studies show that the Teflon offgases toxic particulates at 446°F. At
680°F Teflon pans release at least six toxic gases, including two carcinogens, two global
pollutants, and MFA, a chemical lethal to humans at low doses.
Another no-no is Teflon—a shortened
term for tetrafluoride. Yes, that’s right, Teflon is a fluoride product and one that
produces a toxic gas when heated to over 500°F. Most teflon product boxes contain a
warning about this, although most people overlook the missive. A recent spot on ABC’s
20/20 highlighted how inhaling the fumes produced when a high-heat pan, such as one used
to cook bacon, can cause an illness dubbed the Teflon-flu. The manufacturer, Dupont, has
known about the “flu” for years and warns about it on its Web site—but not
the product container.
Environmental Working Group reviewed 16
peer-reviewed studies detailing experiments conducted over the past 50 years, showing that
heated Teflon decomposes to 15 types of toxic gases and particles. Many of these studies
were conducted by DuPont’s own scientists, who began studying heated Teflon (PTFE) in
the 1950s when DuPont workers were developing polymer fume fever that the company found
could lead to a potentially fatal condition called pulmonary edema [1]. Since DuPont's
discovery of polymer fume fever, cases have been reported in the peer-reviewed literature
of the same illness stemming from home kitchen exposures [2, 3].
[2] Blandford, TB., Seamon, PJ., Hughes,
R., Pattison, M and Wilderspin, MP. 1975. A case of polytetrafluoroethylene poisoning in
cockatiels accompanied by polymer fume fever in the owner. Vet Rec 96(8): 175-8.
[3] Zanen, AL and Rietveld, AP. 1993.
Inhalation trauma due to overheating in a microwave oven. Thorax 48(3): 300-2.
Warning: Teflon Can Cause Birth
Defects & Infertility
PFOA, a chemical found in products ranging
from clothes to stain repellents to food packaging and cosmetics, and a component of
Teflon production,
poses developmental and reproductive risks to humans, according to a risk assessment form
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Current PFOA exposures in children may be
well above safe levels, and some children have high enough blood levels of PFOA to cause
serious toxicity in laboratory studies. The EPA reviewed PFOA after "unexpected
toxicological and bioaccumulation discoveries" in the entire class of perfluorinated
chemicals, particularly PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonates), the active ingredient in
Scotchgard, which was removed from the market by the EPA in 2000. PFOS has similar
chemical properties to PFOA. Neither product breaks down in the environment and both cause
various cancers and adverse effects.
A former DuPont Co. engineer charged
yesterday that the chemical giant deliberately ignored evidence that its grease-resistant
coating on paper products may have been entering consumers' blood at levels that exceeded
the federal health standard. Glenn Evers, who worked at DuPont for 22 years before being
laid off in 2002, told reporters that he became concerned about the health effects of a
perfluorinated chemical used for food packaging in 1987 after company tests showed it was
dissolving into wet paper at much higher levels than the Food and Drug Administration
approved in the 1960s. When the paper coating is dissolved and absorbed into the human
body, it breaks down into perfluorooctanoic acid, the same chemical compound used to make
Teflon. The Environmental Protection Agency's independent science advisory board will soon
decide whether this compound, also known as PFOA or C-8, should be identified as a
"likely human carcinogen."
EPA Press Advisory: EPA Takes
Enforcement Action Against DuPont For Toxic Substances Reporting Violations
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance (OECA) is taking an administrative action against E. I. DuPont de
Nemours and Company (DuPont) for two violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
and one violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These violations
consist of multiple failures to report information to EPA about substantial risk of injury
to human health or the environment from a chemical during a period beginning in June of
1981 through March of 2001. Companies are required by TSCA to report such information
immediately. EPA has the authority to seek a penalty of $25,000 per day for violations
occurring before January 30, 1997, and up to $27,500 per day for violations occurring
thereafter, for each day that DuPont failed to report the information. EPA alleges that
DuPont did not submit to the Agency information the company had obtained regarding the
synthetic chemical Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA). PFOA is used in the manufacturing
process for fluoropolymers, including some Teflon® products, at DuPont’s Washington
Works facility in Washington, West Virginia.
In 1981, the company observed PFOA in blood
samples taken from pregnant workers at the Washington Works facility and at least one
woman had transferred the chemical to her fetus. DuPont detected the chemical in public
water supplies as early as the mid-1980s in West Virginia and Ohio communities in the
vicinity of the Washington Works facility. By 1991 DuPont had information that the
chemical was in water supplies at a greater level than the company’s exposure
guidlelines indicated would be without any effect to members of the community. In 1997,
DuPont failed to provide EPA with all toxicological information the company had regarding
PFOA, despite an EPA request for such information under the terms of an EPA-issued RCRA
permit. An attorney working on a class action suit on behalf of citizens in Ohio and West
Virginia brought this information to the EPA in 2001.
The information that DuPont had obtained
about PFOA was, and continues to be, pertinent to the Agency's ongoing work to better
understand PFOA. Since April 2003, EPA has been working cooperatively with DuPont, 3M,
other companies, and interested parties to develop the information necessary to better
understand the sources and exposure pathways of PFOA. This public effort will lead to the
development of information that will assist the Agency in determining what voluntary or
regulatory actions, if any, would be appropriate to protect human health and environment.
This rigorous scientific review will ensure that any future regulatory action on PFOA is
protective of public health and supported by the best scientific information. EPA is
working to complete a revised risk assessment, which will be released in Fall 2004 for
public peer review by the Agency’s Science Advisory Board.
DuPont's Teflon® works wonders at keeping
food from sticking to pots and pans. But after 50 years of use, evidence is mounting that
Teflon's key ingredient, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), "sticks" in the
environment indefinitely. Environmental health advocates are concerned that exposure to
environmental PFOA as well as to airborne fumes released when nonstick cookware overheats
may be more toxic than realized.
PFOA is a synthetic chemical used to give
Teflon its essential non-stickiness. Problem is, the chemical is apparently just as
durable an environmental contaminant as it is a finish on pots and pans. That is, PFOA
doesn't break down. As a result, there's plenty of PFOA floating around. So much that one
study, released by the 3M Company in 2001, found that PFOA was present in the blood of 96
percent of 598 children tested in 23 states and the District of Columbia.
There is another more immediate health
problem from Teflon, according to the Environmental Working Group. Cooking with Teflon can
make a person sick with a temporary flu if a non-stick pan gets overheated. 'It feels like
the flu,' said Houlihan, 'headaches, chills, backache, temperature between 100 and 104
degrees.' DuPont says that fumes are released from the pan when it is overheated, which
they say occurs at temperatures that are not reached during normal cooking.
There are many reports of deaths in canaries, parrots and other birds from exposure to
over-heated Teflon because of their highly sensitive respiratory systems. Humans can
experience flu-like symptoms for a few days from breathing Teflon vapors. Teflon
production uses ammonium perfluorooctanoate (or C-8) that has been linked to cancer and
organ damage in lab animals.
Chemicals in frying pan a potential
hazard to environment
The next time you reach for your non-stick
frying pan to scramble some eggs, you may want to think again. Researchers at the
University of Toronto, Environment Canada and University of Guelph have discovered that
using products containing Teflon and other fluorinated polymers releases a cocktail of
chemicals into the environment.
In a study to be published in the July 19 issue of Nature, researchers found that
fluorinated polymers degrade when heated. They produce, among other chemicals,
trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a persistent compound whose long-term effects on the
environment are unknown, trace amounts of ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and
longer-chain perfluorocarboxylates, which accumulate in animal tissues.
The use of CFCs -- widely used in
refrigeration systems, aerosols, styrofoam and other products in the 1960s and 70s -- has
been replaced by hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbon (HFCs) gases.
Unlike CFCs, these gases break down in the atmosphere and return to Earth in the form of
rainwater. However, the rainwater can contain TFA, an acidic byproduct that takes many
decades to degrade.
"By measuring TFA levels in rainwater
over the last three to four years, researchers estimated there should be 100 to 120 parts
per trillion in the water by the year 2020," says David Ellis, lead author of the
study and PhD graduate, now working in U of T's chemistry department. "We
unexpectedly discovered the TFA levels have far exceeded that amount and we wanted to know
why."
The researchers hypothesized that
fluorinated polymers like Teflon were to blame. They heated various products containing
fluoropolymers at various temperatures and found they emitted up to 10 per cent of TFA.
They also discovered the average annual global production of fluorinated polymers was
40,000 tonnes in 1988, a figure that had increased by more than 200 per cent in 1997.
While research has not uncovered harmful
effects of TFA on people, there is cause for concern, says Scott Mabury, who supervised
the study and is a U of T chemistry professor. "High concentrations of TFA in water
can be mildly phytotoxic (toxic to plants) but, more importantly, it will take decades for
TFA to degrade. We don't know what the long-term environmental impacts are."
The scientists also found that
fluoropolymer material releases small amounts of CFCs into the atmosphere which can
contribute to ozone depletion.
This study was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
