In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has charged DuPont with withholding information first revealed in the West Virginia lawsuits about PFOA. 

Visit this link to learn more about the harmful effects of Teflon's toxic chemical:

Mabury has made a startling discovery: some of the chemical in Teflon stain repellents applied to the surface of products (such as a pair of pants) actually breaks away from the products into the atmosphere and then degrades into the toxic chemical, PFOA.

"We've shown that they get away from these materials," says Mabury, "in sufficient quantities to represent the bulk of what we measure in the atmosphere."

Mabury thinks this groundbreaking research is so important that he's shared it with Marketplace before publishing it in a scientific journal.

DuPont has agreed to pay for an independent study of 80,000 Americans to find out what the health risks are of having PFOA in our blood.

When asked Jennifer Hooper, head of safety and the environment for DuPont Canada, to respond to the Maburys findings. But Hooper tells us she can't because she's not familiar with his study.

When we asked what DuPont would do if Mabury's research turns out to be true, she tells us: I think Duponts record speaks for itself. Where theres, you know, sound science-based rationale to take action, we take action.

But DuPont's not convinced the problem's coming from products treated with Teflon stain repellents.

Environment Canada's not waiting for the EPA's report on health risks. It's concerned enough to ban three new stain repellents from the market for at least two years.

Should you toss your Teflon products?

UPDATE: The original broadcast of Somethings in the Air on March 20, 2005, included a reference to Windex. At the beginning of April the manufacturer of Windex, SC Johnson, informed Marketplace that it had voluntarily removed PFOA from its product.

Here is an excerpt from the Environmental Working Groups response to SC Johnson on this matter:

Thank you for the information by phone and recent letter on PFCs in SC Johnson products. We are pleased that SC Johnson has taken a proactive approach to replacing perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in their products as part of their Greenlist program. This approach will benefit the health of the public and SC Johnson's market position in the consumer products sector. EWG is a research organization that takes scientific accuracy and integrity seriously, and as such, appreciates any new, additional data on PFCs to help understand the sources of these persistent chemicals.

- Timothy Kropp, Senior Scientist, Environmental Working Group, April 5 2005.  

The Teflon chemical can be found in all kinds of products, says Timothy Kropp, a toxicologist with the Environmental Working Group watchdog organization.

So what should you do with the things in your home that are treated with Teflon stain repellents? Even environmentalists like Kropp say you shouldnt throw them away. He suggests you just dont buy new products with the stain resistant treatments: The next time you go out to buy clothing, you dont have to buy the stain resistant clothes. You know, weve kept really nice, clean clothes for all these years and we dont necessarily need that if you have a chemical that doesnt break down at all and stays in your body for decades, you should err on the side of caution.

That's exactly what Della Tennant and her husband Jim decided to do. "I try to buy things that don't have it on, and we took the carpet up off the floor," says Della. "I feel like it's very important that the people in the United States of America and all over Canada and everywhere else -- need to know what's in their water and what's on the clothes that they're wearing."

Environmental chemist Scott Mabury says there is a solution to this chemical mess: companies like DuPont could reformulate their stain repellents so they dont release a chemical that breaks down into PFOA. Once we understand the problem, there are reasonable and practical suggestions for solving it, he says. If we dont do it, then were simply making a long-term mistake.

What's the next step in the investigation? As part of a legal settlement, DuPont has agreed to pay for an independent study of 80,000 Americans to find out what the health risks are of having PFOA in our blood.

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I hope you find this information helpful and very valuable for your health.

Warmly,
Connie
www.optforfreedom.com

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