DuPont stuck with Teflon lawsuits

Fears about toxic chemicals put multinational in the dock

Nature, Mark Peplow
Published July 24, 2005

The giant chemicals firm DuPont was hit by lawsuits last week, on behalf of 14 people who say it failed to warn them about possible dangers of chemicals related to Teflon. The compound receiving most attention, called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), is used in the manufacture of the famous non-stick pan coating, as well as in products such as carpets and clothing. For many years there have been scientific concerns that PFOA may be toxic, and could potentially cause cancer. On 27 June, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft report from its Science Advisory Board reviewing the evidence for potential health problems with PFOA. It concluded that previous studies on rats showed the chemical was a "likely" carcinogen, and advised that the EPA should carry out further tests. PFOA is currently categorised as a "possible" carcinogen. Various studies have found PFOA in human blood and animals around the world, even in remote areas of the Arctic. The levels needed to induce cancer in rats were much higher than those found in humans, however. And studies of industrially exposed workers have shown no adverse health link. "To date, no human health effects are known to be caused by PFOA even in workers who have significantly higher exposure levels than the general population," Dupont said in a statement on 6 July 2005. "Consumers using products sold under the Teflon brand are safe," said Cliff Webb, spokesman for DuPont, which is based in Wilmington, Delaware. "Cookware coated with DuPont Teflon non-stick coatings does not contain PFOA," he added. Getting around No one is sure how PFOA is spreading though, atmospheric transport seems the most likely explanation outside urban areas. "At this point we have no indication that the PFOA comes from Teflon products," says Toni Krasnic, a chemist with the EPA who helped to coordinate their review. Research by Scott Mabury, an environmental chemist from the University of Toronto, Canada, has shown that Teflon products heated to 360