Teflon-Linked Dangers May Not Stick

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That's important, he added, because most non-epidemiological studies done so far have involved only short-term exposures in animals.

"That may or may not reflect what might happen in a real-life system, where you or I might get low doses [that accumulate] over months, years or decades," Wallace said. "Time won't allow us to do those studies, of course."

The bottom line, according to Wallace, is that actual human exposures from everyday use of cookware or other products remains "a big question mark." He believes consumers need to follow the data as it emerges and make up their own minds on the issue. As scientists, he said, "we try and take a very conservative approach and try and limit any unanticipated health risks."

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For those still contemplating a switch away from Teflon, Corcoran noted that alternatives may have risks, too.

"We're talking in my house about pulling out all of our well-aged cast-iron skillets," he noted. "But you get iron coming off of those, and scientists know that iron stimulates free-radical production in your body. So, who knows -- maybe that higher load of iron is more dangerous than what we're now getting off of Teflon."

More information

Head to the EPA for more on PFOA (www.epa.gov#consumers ).

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