Few people know it, but DuPont has a long history of exposing workers and customers to toxic substances, then denying that such substances harm their health. In the mid 20th century, for example, DuPont was one of the many industrial chemical producers involved in the production of lead products such as leaded gasoline. Lead was thought to be a "miracle" element with great potential for industrial use. But as DuPont workers started losing their minds to lead poisoning, the company denied everything and kept on pushing lead-based products to the market while releasing
lead into the environment. (
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Now DuPont insist that Teflon is perfectly safe, too, even though the EPA now charges the corporation with being in violation of the federal Toxic Substances Control Act by failing to report the toxicity of Teflon for two decades.
The EPA is now accusing DuPont of causing, "substantial risk of injury to human health or the environment" and looks likely to seek large fines from the company. The chemicals used in Teflon have been linked to birth defects in DuPont employees and are well known to kill household parrots thanks to the offgassing of toxic chemicals during cooking.
But it is possible that such chemicals are only a major risk during manufacturing or when non-stick cookware is heated to extremely high temperatures. Non-stick cookware may, in fact, be relatively safe when used intelligently and kept below 600 degrees. But I wouldn't take DuPont's word for it. And failure to report such dangers to the EPA is clearly a public safety violation.
About the author: Mike Adams is a holistic nutritionist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. He has created over 100 CounterThink cartoons and produced several popular hip-hop songs on socially-conscious topics. He's also the CEO of a highly successful email newsletter software company that develops software used to send permission email campaigns to subscribers. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and pursues hobbies such as Pilates, Capoeira, nature macrophotography and organic gardening. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org
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Wednesday, July 21, 2004
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