Originally published at: Teflon: Miracle invention or slow-acting poison? Why not both! - Boing Boing
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The tone of this post is a bit odd to me. I’m assuming @frauenfelder knows more about this than me, and I’m just reacting to tone.
Here’s my layperson understanding, helped by this documentary:
Teflon is branded poison.
It was created by DuPont and is among other chemicals that are f*cking terrible for humans.
DuPont covered this up and their poison was incorporated into many many nonstick pans and comfly fleece garments.
Now that poison is in all of us.
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But no one ever talks about all the GOOD things that Teflon does!
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Interesting that both polythene and PTFE were discovered by accident around the same time. Polythene’s radio properties were so outstanding that it was effectively ruled a secret by the British government at the outbreak of WW2.
Though the article makes one mistake. Gaseous diffusion of uranium hexafluoride was invented at the Clarendon Laboratory at Oxford and the first units were built by MetroVick before the US entered the War. It was one of the technologies shared with the US in the Tizard Mission of 1940 when it became clear the German bombing of British industry meant it would be impossible to build a full scale enrichment plant in this side of the Atlantic.
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In reading up on PFAS, I can’t seem to find anything that explains actually how/why they are harmful. The molecules are long-lived because the C-F bond is one of the most stable bonds in all of chemistry, so there isn’t really anything that can react with it. They even use PTFS (a fluorinated alkane polymer) for storage and transport of the most strongest and caustic acids that exist: sulfuric acid+hydrogen peroxide mixture, hydrofluoric acid (which etches glass!) etc. So if it doesn’t react with anything, how is it causing harm?
I don’t doubt the science, the huge amount of data and studies are overwhelming. But nothing I’ve been able to find explains exactly how/why these completely inert molecules are causing problems in the human body.
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One word: Bioaccumulation.
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Teflon reacts with Chlorine Trifluoride, because nearly everything reacts with Chlorine Trifluoride.
Of course, if your body contains ClF3 then you have bigger problems than Teflon.
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The ubiquity of non-stick pan coatings baffles me. In a very short time the coating starts to peel off, and then you’ve got a useless pan to throw away. You can’t use any metal utensils with them, and plastic utensils are flimsy and have to be replaced much more often than metal ones, plus they don’t work nearly as well for most purposes. A good cast-iron or carbon steel pan is practically indestructible, lets you use whatever utensils you want, and remains non-stick forever.
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Chemicals don’t necessarily have to react with something to participate in / modify / bugger up biochemical pathways; their mere presence can have an effect. Take xenon, for example: noble gas, couldn’t get it to react with anything at all until 1962–but it’s a general anesthetic, and a darn good one, albeit expensive. ( Xenon - Wikipedia )
One way some PFASs have an effect is by mimicking hormones closely enough to serve as “endocrine disruptors”. (Hormones typically don’t permanently bond to their receptors, either.) One paper about that: Endocrine Disruptor Potential of Short- and Long-Chain Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs)—A Synthesis of Current Knowledge with Proposal of Molecular Mechanism - PMC .
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I’m either missing something or this post is conflating two entirely different, though related, sets of compounds. In the article and the linked study, there is no mention of Teflon (PTFE) being a suspected carcinogen, endocrine disruptor or bioaccumulative material. PFOA, PFOS, PFNA and PFHxS are mentioned as concerning, but not PTFE.
“In the U.S. alone, over 95% of adolescents and adults have measureable serum levels of PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, and PFNA“
I know that many pieces of Teflon-coated cookware utilize these chemicals in the bonding process and there is also a tremendous amount of environmental release from manufacturers, but there are also loads of pieces of cookware that are specifically advertised as not utilizing those chemicals in their manufacture. FTA:
“Not all of this (bad stuff about PFASs) is necessarily true for Teflon itself and other plastics made of fluoropolymers. Because PTFE’s chain of carbon and fluorine atoms in its molecular structure is really long (and lacking the hydrophilic end of other PFASs that means they are readily moved through the body), it’s not as easy for our bodies to absorb it.” -italics mine
It’s also worth noting that PTFE is ubiquitous and heavily used in many more products that come into contact with human bodies and foods; Gore-Tex fabrics, dental floss and, of course, pretty much every water pipe in America.
Maybe I’m missing something, but this smacks of the mainstream press’s usual lack of thoughtful examination of research for the sake of clicks.
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As is stainless steel, if you don’t want to deal with the weight or finickiness of iron. There’s a reason restaurants mostly use that.
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I also had excellent results with pans with ceramic, or granite. Both are easier to clean than steel IMHO.
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Not entirely true. Teflon did, until fairly recently, contain PFOA as a result of its manufacturing process. PFOA is a problem. And the breakdown products that result if heated beyond 400 oF are toxic. Yes, PTFE in and of itself is harmless. So long as it’s of new manufacture, and you don’t heat it. And why would you ever heat cookware? Oh, wait…
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One word: eggs. Cast iron takes a lot of effort to get non-stick and steel takes a lot of skill. And even then, you’ll probably fail to fry an egg without sticking half the time. We keep 2 Teflon pans around and only use them for cases where you need a dummy-proof non-stick surface. Even in Pepin’s famous French omelette instructions, he uses a Teflon pan and a fork: https://youtu.be/X1XoCQm5JSQ
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Or scrambled. I tried “low and slow” scrambled on stainless steel once. Never again. It took hours to clean.
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Not to bring up one of those “Endless arguments” topics, but I use my cast iron to fry and scramble eggs all the time. No sticking, clean-up is easy, and no worries about forever chemicals. And if a bit of iron makes it into my food, well, not really a problem, I think. Can’t argue the “heavy” issue, though. I use as small a pan as I can, because they do get heavy.
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I use enameled cast iron for scrambled eggs and it doesn’t stick maybe 10% of the time. I just accept it.
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Happy Pan may suddenly accelerate to dangerous speeds.
If Happy Pan begins to smoke, seek shelter and cover head.
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