Clothes That Could Kill
A few years ago, my neighbor warned me about the dangers of Teflon. I did some research and immediately threw out pots, pans, cleaning supplies, etc.
Imagine my shock and horror when shopping for back-to-school clothes and noticing all the "stain-resistant" items. What makes them stain-resistant? They're coated with Teflon. This cancer-causing chemical does not belong on children's clothes. At the very least, manufacturers should attach a label warning parents about the dangers of this awful carcinogen.
Please contact stores like Target or The Children's Place and tell them to stop such practices. Wouldn't you rather deal with stains than cancer?
I would.
posted by kate @ 7:16 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
I grew up about 3 miles from a dupont plant in southern NJ... and about 10 miles from the one in Delaware. My dad worked in both plants and retired from the one in Del. He told me once....he said..never touch the tape used for casette tapes and computer tapes, he said it caused cancer and I shouldn't touch it with my bare hands. Dupont made those tape materials. I worked for a brokerage firm in NYC and worked as a computer tape librarian....
It's a wonder he is still alive.....He is 75 and starting to have some episodes of dementia like symptoms...believing things that are not true...thinking he is getting married and havin twins...thing like that......but the doctor said that's not what it is...or alzheimers either...it just dawned on me...could it be something from dupont that is causing him to act so strange.....
Should I really throw out my pans? They really cook eggs so well...and nothing sticks... :(
funny enough, if you take mercury and put a few drops on a piece of aluminum foil, it will burn right through it. Now take that piece of aluminum foil and place it next to a picture of a post-mortem alzheimer's brain and the burn patterns are identical. Think about that next time you go see the dentist to get a shiny silver mercury amalgam filling.
Okay. Now I'm all kinds of depressed.
What have I done????
It was found that the offending chemical PFOA was the carcinogen and that it is used in the manufacture of Teflon, but it is not present in "measurable" amounts in the finished product.
The thing to worry about with Teflon (as any "Good Eats" fan will know) is that your teflon pan, if allowed to heat up to 500 Degrees F will release harmful fumes. Make sure you get your food into the pan within a few minutes of heating it up (that will lower the temperature of the pan).
So, Teflon itself is not (as far as we know) a carcinogen. But a chemical that is essentially purged in the final product is the hazard. If this waste product is dumped into the environment it is hella harmful (hence the litigation).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teflon
I would argue: why chance it? If a part of Teflon is a carcinogen and if heating it up to a certain level is harmful - why use it at all? Why coat clothing that can get into a child's skin? Seriously - is it necessary? And if creating this chemical can ruin the environment, then why participate in harming others or our planet?
It doesn't make one bit of sense.
I don't know that it's neccessary. I just wanted to let everyone know that the "problem" is not what it has been made out to be. Licking your Teflon pan will not give you cancer. Though, living downstream of a DuPont plant might.
GOOD POINT!! I agree that we should really look out for our youth. For instance, proper use of protective equipment should also be considered for young an budding hockey stars.
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