Teflon-Linked Dangers May Not Stick

There's little hard evidence the cookware harms health, experts say

By E.J. Mundell
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) -- You could almost hear a resounding clank across America this month as thousands of health-conscious cooks tossed out their Teflon non-stick cookware, following the news it might emit a suspected carcinogen.

But there may be hope for all those once-beloved, now-beleaguered pots and pans.

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So says George B. Corcoran, a noted toxicologist and chairman of the department of pharmaceutical sciences at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Corcoran is a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advisory committee that issued its report labeling the compound -- perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) -- a "likely carcinogen" earlier this month. It was that announcement, along with recent EPA and industry moves to eliminate PFOA from Teflon and other stain-resistant coatings, that sent the issue from the frying pan straight into the media firestorm.

But Corcoran said there was no need to panic.

"Do I still use Teflon cookware, even though I've been on this panel for over a year and a half now?" he said. "The answer is: Yes."

According to Corcoran and other experts, the evidence for PFOA-related harm from everyday cooking remains slim. "My sense is that we [scientists] are being prudent in reducing further exposure, because we just don't know what the bottom line is yet," he said.

For its part, the EPA on its Web site says that, because of "scientific uncertainties at the present time, EPA does not believe there is any reason for consumers to stop using any consumer or industrial related products that contain PFOA."

PFOA is what industrial chemists call an "intermediate chemical" -- something produced during the manufacturing process, but not necessarily present in the finished product, or present in only small amounts.

In fact, another EPA advisory panel member, James E. Klaunig, a professor of toxicology at the Indiana University School of Medicine, said, "My understanding from experience with the PFOA studies is that once the Teflon is produced as a coating, the PFOA is no longer available chemically. Thus it can not leach from the Teflon."

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