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 natural health author and award-winning journalist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, and he has published numerous courses on preparedness and survival, including financial preparedness, emergency food supplies, urban survival and tactical self-defense. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2010, Adams co-founded NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing site that has now grown in popularity. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also the founder and CEO of a well known email mail merge software developer whose software, 'Email Marketing Director,' currently runs the NaturalNews email subscriptions. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and pursues hobbies such as martial arts, Capoeira, nature macrophotography and organic gardening. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
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Wednesday, July 21, 2004
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