PFCs are commonly used in non-stick cookware, and eating off non-stick cookware inevitably results in the consumption of these chemicals. Even so-called "diamond" non-stick surfaces are easily scratched. A previous report by NaturalNews exposed the truth about so-called "diamond" non-stick cookware surfaces.
PFCs are also known to impair fetal growth, harm the liver and suppress immune system function. They're also highly toxic to the environment, both during the manufacture and disposal of non-stick cookware products.
So why do the chemicals remain legal in the U.S. and other countries? Because they're made by powerful corporations like DuPont (the owner of the Teflon trademark). Those corporations hold great sway over U.S. regulators, and they routinely distort the truth to hide the dangers of their chemicals.
DuPont, for example, illegally withheld information about the health risks of its chemicals from the EPA, says a Bloomberg article from 2004. It's almost routine these days for corporations to lie about the dangers of the chemicals they produce.
To this day, DuPont insists PFOA and Teflon are perfectly safe to cook on.
Common chemicals found in non-stick frying pans 'can harm fertility'
by Kate Devlin,
The Telegraph
Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) are used to make products like Teflon, as well as waterproof clothing, pesticides and upholstery.
Studies have also shown that they have leached in small quantities into the water supply, in part because they are contained in foam used by firefighters.
A new study found that exposure to high levels of the chemicals, which can remain in the environment and the body for decades, could leave women struggling to get pregnant.
Women with high levels of PFCs in their blood were up to one and a half times more likely to have taken more than a year to conceive or required fertility treatment than those with low levels.
The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, warns that the levels of exposure to the chemicals necessary to reduce fertility "are common in developed countries".
Researchers looked at the levels of two of the chemicals, called perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), in the bloodstreams of 1,240 women in Denmark who became pregnant between 1996 and 2002.
Dr Chunyuan Fei, from the University of California, one of the co-authors of the study, said that previously PFOA and PFOS had been considered "biologically inactive".
"But recently animal studies have shown that these chemicals may have a variety of toxic effects on the liver, immune system and developmental and reproductive organs," he said.
"Very few human studies have been done, but one of our earlier studies showed that PFOA, although not PFOS, may impair the growth of babies in the womb, and another two epidemiological studies linked PFOA and PFOS to impaired foetal growth."
His team speculate that both chemicals reduce fertility by affecting levels of female sex hormones.
The chemicals, which have also been included in products from fabric protectors to non-iron clothing, have previously sparked controversy over suggestions that they could be linked to an increased risk of developing some forms of cancer.
Tony Rutherford, Chair of the British Fertility Society, said that the study highlighted an important area for further research.
He said: "This is an important finding and certainly warrants further detailed research, particularly in those trying for a family. This study emphasises the importance of remaining vigilant to potential environmental factors that may impact on fertility."
A spokesman for DuPont, which makes Teflon, said: "We routinely evaluate findings from new research on PFOA. The weight of evidence continues to indicate to us that there is no health risk to the general public. A number of significant new epidemiological human health studies are being conducted which should address further questions relative to potential health effects of PFOA."
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