Non-stick cookware! Stain-repellant clothing! Technology seems to know no bounds. But it all comes with a price. While the convenience and benefits of using a pan that never needs scrubbing or wearing clothing that lets spilled juice run right off seem overwhelming, the dangers to our overall health and wellbeing are even more overwhelming. Sobering, in fact.
A pervasive chemical, labeled as a “likely carcinogen”, called PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), has been created and used by humans for the last 40 years in a slew of commercial applications. It is a complex compound used in the manufacture of fluoropolymers, a chemical used to make coatings for non-stick cookware. It is also produced by the gradual breakdown of fluorotelomers, a compound used in the production of stain resistant clothing, fabrics, or paper packaging that is able to repel water, grease, etc.
A variety of brand names, for example, Teflon and Scotchgard, manufacture products with this dangerous component. If we cook our food in it, or wear it next to our skin, we may as well regularly ingest it for dinner. In fact, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 95 percent of people in the United States have this chemical present in their blood. And once the chemical gets into the body, it’s there for good. It has the tendency to accumulate in cells because of its polarized structure, according to researchers.
Though scientists claim to have developed an alternative chemical to use in stain-resistant coatings which do not pollute our body and environment with PFOA, they cautiously state that ‘they are less likely to cause health problems.’ By designing a group of shorter, four-carbon fluorotelomers, which are less ‘bulky’ than the original, longer chain fluorotelomers, they hope to cut back on the health concerns while still providing the convenience of stain-resistant coatings. A discerning, green consumer, however, may decide that stainless steel cookware, albeit requiring a little extra elbow grease to clean, and ‘normal’ fabrics, though requiring a little more care when eating to avoid spills, may do just fine.
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