Study Links Teflon Chemical to Higher Cancer Rates

According to a May 5 Charleston Gazette story, a new study presented at a meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicologists and Chemists, or SETAC, links the Teflon chemical C8 [also known as PFOA] to elevated cancer rates. Researchers found higher levels of prostate cancer in men and cervical and uterine cancer in women exposed to C8 than in the general population.

Americans have used and trusted the brand name Teflon for about fifty years, but the federal government has little data to support that trust. Teflon cookware was approved for use in the early 1960s with data from just one study. Since that time, scientists from government, industry and universities have compiled stacks of research linking C8 to reproductive damage, cancer, and other adverse health effects.

These chemicals build up in the environment and do not break down, and they appear to cause many types of harm in laboratory animals. Teflon chemicals are not just in your kitchen, either. Lots of surfaces are treated to resist spills or stains - carpets, fast-food packaging, clothing, cars, and more: all of these convenient products are likely making use of Teflon chemicals. They are found in more than consumer products, though -- C8 and similar chemicals are now in over 90% of Americans' blood as well.

Read the Charleston Gazette story
EWG's work on Teflon chemicals and the EPA's investigation of C8