In cases of "Teflon toxicosis," as the bird poisonings are called, the lungs of exposed birds hemorrhage and fill with fluid, leading to suffocation. DuPont acknowledges that the fumes can also sicken people, a condition called "polymer fume fever." DuPont has never studied the incidence of the fever among users of the billions of non-stick pots and pans sold around the world. Neither has the company studied the long-term effects from the sickness, or the extent to which Teflon exposures lead to human illnesses believed erroneously to be the common flu.

Fluoride in frying pans, fluoride in the drinking water, fluoride in toothpase, fluoride in a large selection of pharmaceutical drugs. Would anyone care to explain to me why we are putting ourselves at high risk of poisoning by fluoride?

Update 9 July 2004 - An article in the New York Times - E.P.A. Says It Will Fine DuPont for Holding Back Test Results - relates that DuPont did some testing on a toxic compound related to its Teflon product. The EPA is charging DuPont for withholding the test results:

ASHINGTON, July 8 - The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it would fine the DuPont chemical company for failing to report test results on a chemical related to the manufacturing of Teflon.

DuPont conducted tests that showed that the chemical, known as C-8, was transmitted from a pregnant DuPont worker to her fetus and that traces of it were found in public drinking water in communities near DuPont facilities, but the company did not reveal that it had done the tests, the agency said.

Congress cannot mandate such testing by a chemical company, but if testing is conducted, the results must be made public, according to the Toxic Substance Control Act.

The E.P.A. also found DuPont in violation for failing to provide all of the toxicological data it had gathered on the chemical after a 1997 request from the agency.

DuPont said it would contest the fines. "We believe that we have complied with the guidelines and the reporting requirements," R. Clifton Webb, a company spokesman, said.

A spokesman for the E.P.A. said the agency would impose a multi-million dollar fine, but he declined to be more specific.

It is unclear whether C-8, or perfluorooctanoic acid, is harmful to humans. In one study, researchers concluded that it caused developmental defects in rats, but the results could not be replicated.

In 1981, DuPont had results of blood tests conducted on pregnant workers, which showed that C-8 had been transmitted from a worker to her developing fetus, the E.P.A. said. The child appeared to be normal at birth, but the agency's complaint does not say if the child was monitored thereafter.

In 1991, the agency said, DuPont compiled evidence that C-8 levels in drinking water in communities along the Ohio River, near the company's plant in Washington, W.Va., exceeded an exposure level set by company's internal guidelines.

In March 2001, a lawyer representing residents along the river in a class-action lawsuit against DuPont sent copies of the test results to the agency.

Here is the BBC News article.

Frying pan fumes 'kill canaries'

By Alex Kirby

BBC News Online environment correspondent

Fumes given off by cancer-causing chemicals used to make non-stick frying pans are killing hundreds of pet birds every year, environmentalists say.

The Worldwide Fund for Nature says it is hearing reports that many US caged birds are being killed by the fumes.

It says the chemicals, perfluorinated compounds, are also contaminating both people and wildlife with grave effects.

The chemicals industry says it doubts that birds exposed to ordinary levels of the compounds could die from them.

Guilty till proved harmless

In a report, Causes For Concern: Chemicals and Wildlife, WWF says the compounds, also used in some textiles and food packaging, are among "the most prominent new toxic hazards".

It says: "Scientists have found perfluorinated compounds, classified as cancer-causing chemicals by the US Environmental Protection Agency, in dolphins, whales and cormorants in the Mediterranean; seals and sea eagles in the Baltic; and polar bears."

Elizabeth Salter-Green, head of WWF's toxics programme, said: "Years ago, coal miners took canaries with them down the pits to detect lethal gases.

"Now, canaries are dying in our kitchens, but no action is being taken about the suspect chemicals.

"The global production of chemicals is increasing, and at the same time we have warning signals that a variety of troubling threats to wildlife and human health are becoming more prevalent.

"It is reckless to suggest there is no link between the two and give chemicals the benefit of the doubt."

WWF says while the harmful effects of chemicals like DDT and polychlorinated biphenyls have been documented, recent studies of other chemicals on sale today show the dangers to people and wildlife.

It says: "As well as perfluorinated compounds other harmful man-made chemicals still in use today include phthalates, phenolic compounds - such as bisphenol A - and brominated flame retardants (BFRs).

"Phthalates can be found in plastics (including PVC), phenolic compounds in food cans, plastic bottles and computer casings, and BFRs in fabrics and TVs.

Brussels' approach defended

"These toxic compounds, which contaminate a wide range of animals, can cause severe health disorders such as cancer, damage to the immune system, behavioural problems, hormone disruption, or even feminisation."

WWF says the European Union's planned legislation, Reach (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) does not go far enough.

It says Reach "falls short of ensuring that hazardous chemicals are replaced with safer alternatives".

Judith Hackitt, director-general of the UK's Chemical Industries Association, told BBC News Online: "It sounds highly unlikely to me that birds exposed to perfluorinated compounds in normal household conditions would be killed.

"With them and the other chemicals WWF is concerned about, the industry is spending a lot on investigating them.

"And with Reach, it's a big assumption to say replacement won't happen - I think it will."

Story from BBC NEWS

Published: 2004/01/29 14:42:36 GMT

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