Better living thru chemistry my fanny…
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Hospital drew blood from the umbilical cords of 300 newborns and discovered something that would be deeply unnerving to many parents:
Ninety-nine percent of the babies were born with trace levels of an industrial chemical - suspected as a possible cancer-causing agent - that is used in the manufacture of Teflon pans, computer chips, cell phones and dozens of other consumer products.
Now Dr. Lynn Goldman, Rolf Halden and their colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health are working with other scientists to determine whether the toxic chemical has harmed the infants, possibly by interfering with their thyroid glands and hormone levels.
Previous studies, some funded by industry, have found perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, in the bloodstream of most Americans. But the Hopkins study, supported by the federal and state governments, is the largest independent research project to examine the compound’s effects on newborns, who may be more vulnerable to endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
“It’s very clear that PFOA is being released into the environment, and it’s pretty much ubiquitous,” Goldman said. “But we don’t know if it’s toxic to people at these levels.”
DuPont, which manufactures Teflon and has used the chemical for more than 50 years, says there is no evidence that PFOA is harmful to humans.
“The chemical does have an effect on animals that are fed high doses of it. But animals respond differently to PFOA than people, and there is no evidence that there are any health effects in people,” said David Boothe, a DuPont manager.
The Hopkins study comes as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working with industry to try to reduce PFOA emissions into the environment.
The EPA announced last month that DuPont has voluntarily agreed to reduce its use of the chemical, although not eliminate it, and take more steps to halt emissions from its plants. In December, the company agreed to pay a $10.25 million civil penalty - the largest ever levied by the EPA - for withholding information about the potential health and environmental impacts of the compound.
An EPA scientific advisory panel released a draft report in the spring that said the chemical has caused tumors when fed to rats and is a “likely carcinogen in humans.” But the same panel said last week that more research needs to be completed before the EPA concludes whether PFOA causes cancer.
“It’s a mystery right now,” said Dr. Frank Witter, medical director of labor and delivery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a partner in the research. “At some point, with more research, we may be able to say something more than ‘it’s just there.’ But we have not finished that analysis yet.”
article continues at link:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.teflon06feb06,1,6405408.story?coll=bal-home-headlines
I remember when Teflon was just getting popular (oh, my, that rather dates me :-)) and typing a paper for my brother about it… there was some discussion then about issues with those chlorofluorocarbons. (I remember being fascinated at their little problem of getting the Teflon to stick **to** the pan.) I guess convenience and marketing trump slow-acting nasties.