Chemical used in Teflon production linked to developmental problems in lab animals

• The Environmental protection Agency (EPA) is trying to determine whether a chemical used in the production of Teflon poses a health threat to people throughout the nation.
• The EPA is asking an outside panel of scientific experts to comment on the agency's research on the potential health risks of perfluorooctanoic acid, a synthetic chemical used in making non-stick Teflon cookware and hundreds of other products.
• The EPA said last week that perfluorooctanoic acid, known as PFOA, or C-8, has been detected in "very low levels" in the environment and in the blood of the general U.S. population, and that studies indicate PFOA "can cause developmental and other adverse effects in laboratory animals."
• The EPA, which has been studying the potential health risks of PFOA and similar fluorochemicals since 2000, issued a draft assessment of the potential risks of PFOA on Jan. 12.
• PFOA is used primarily to produce its salts, which are used as essential processing aids in the production of fluoropolymers and fluoroelastomers.
• Finished fluoropolymer and fluoroelastomer products are not expected to contain PFOA, according to the EPA, leading the agency to wonder how the chemical has found its way into the general population's bloodstream.
• Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont, one of the major producers of PFOA, issued a news release on Jan. 12 that said the company "welcomes the EPA's draft risk assessment and the formation of a science advisory board as important steps in addressing questions about PFOA."
• The Jan. 12 statement from DuPont came on the heels of a news release the company issued the day before reporting that the results of an "initial-phase" health study of more than 1,000 workers at its Washington Works plant near Parkersburg, W.Va., showed no connection between PFOA blood levels and liver problems, blood counts, prostate cancer, leukemia or multiple myeloma.
• The results of the study, which was reviewed by five universities on DuPont's Epidemiology Review Board, were released to all employees who participated in the study, according to DuPont.