Iowa Lawsuit To Test Teflon

Case Scheduled To Go To Trial This Week

NBC 5, Staff
Published April 18, 2006

CHICAGO -- A class action lawsuit in Iowa against the maker of Teflon alleges that the company knew about the cancer risks associated with the chemicals in its products, but did nothing to warn customers. The case is scheduled to go to trial this week. The Environmental Working Group said secrecy within DuPont goes back for decades, Target 5's Lisa Parker reported. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency concluded that DuPont covered up company studies about the dangers of the chemical used in the manufacture of Teflon, C8, and fined the company $16 million. "They have not been responsible," said Jane Houlihan, a spokeswoman for the Environmental Working Group. "There was a long track record in these companies of knowing that these chemicals could pose risks." In a recent campaign, DuPont took out a full-page advertisement that aimed to assure consumers that Teflon was safe. The chemical in question, C8, is used to make Teflon, but it is not in the finished product. A panel of scientists assembled by the government recently called C8 a likely cancer risk for humans, but the EPA has never told consumers to stop using Teflon, Parker reported. DuPont officials have said non-stick coatings begin to deteriorate at 500 degrees Fahrenheit, giving off toxic fumes, but said consumers simply don't use ultra-high heat to cook. The Environmental Working Group disagrees. As Houlihan cooked bacon in a non-stick pan, the temperatures exceeded 500 degrees in five minutes. "In the mid-600s, you are actually getting multiple kinds of toxic gasses coming off the pans," Houlihan. Those fumes have been linked to what is known as the "Teflon Flu." DuPont officials said there is only one documented case of it , though critics said that number is due to misdiagnosis. It is widely known that Teflon fumes are deadly to pet birds.