Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer which finds numerous applications. PTFE's most well known trademark in the industry is the DuPont brand name Teflon, as DuPont initially discovered PTFE (see History below). PTFE has an extremely low coefficient of friction and is used as a non-stick coating for pans and other cookware. It is very non-reactive, and so is often used in containers and pipework for reactive and corrosive chemicals.(Thanks Wikipedia)
The DuPont Corporation has entered a voluntary Environmental Protection Agency stewardship program aimed at reducing emissions of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) during the manufacture of high-performance plastics like Teflon.
The decision comes in the midst of an EPA investigation into the toxicity of PFOA, found in the bloodstreams and water supply of residents near one of DuPont's Teflon manufacturing facilities outside of California.Teflon® is in household products we use every day, from the coatings on our non-stick pots and pans to the stain resistant coating on the clothes we wear, but evidence is coming to light that this miracle chemical is not as safe as DuPont has lead us to believe. Court records and internal documents have shown that DuPont® has been covering up the true dangers of Teflon for decades.
DuPont spokesperson Cathy Andriadis denied the EPA's claim that DuPont is contaminating citizens, citing studies done on DuPont employees that showed no toxicity. Regardless, DuPont has pledged to reduce emissions by 95 percent by 2010.
