Originally published January 18 2005
Teflon chemical found in the blood of everyone on Earth; scientists puzzled
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A chemical known as PFOA, sometimes referred to as C-8, that is used to make Teflon products has found its way into the blood of everyone on the planet. PFOA is not found in Teflon products; it is used only in the manufacturing stage, and apparently entered the environment from manufacturing facilities. Scientists are trying to determine how the substance spread, and to assess its effects on the body.
A chemical used to make Teflon somehow got into the blood of everybody on earth.
What does this mean for our health?
These are very important questions, says the Environmental Protection Agency.
To find out, the EPA has assembled a distinguished panel of outside experts.
But they don't start work until next month.
Meanwhile, the long-lasting chemical continues to accumulate in the environment -- and in our bodies.
Toxicologist Tim Kropp, PhD, senior scientist with the watchdog group Environmental Working Group, finds the situation alarming.
It is the most persistent synthetic chemical known to man," Kropp tells WebMD.
"It would take your body two decades to get rid of 95% of it, assuming you are not exposed to any more.
It's used to make Teflon - made by DuPont -- and many, many other products.
But DuPont says PFOA is used only during the manufacturing process and that there's no PFOA in Teflon cookware or other Teflon products.
How that happened, and what it means for their health, is a mystery, says Jennifer Seed, PhD, EPA chief of pollution prevention and toxics in the risk assessment division of the Existing Chemicals Assessment Branch.
"PFOA is present in most people's blood in this country and beyond; it's even in wildlife," Seed tells WebMD.
"We have absolutely no understanding at this point how it got there.
So are data from animal studies showing that PFOA causes cancer, liver damage, growth defects, immune system damage, and death in lab rats and monkeys.
How those relate to humans is the key question.
That is the one we have been grappling with," Seed says.
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