Are Non-Stick Coatings on Cookware Safe?

Toxic Gases

• The Environmental Working Group is very outspoken on the dangers associated with non-stick cookware. Chemicals emitted during the cooking process are dangerous to humans and deadly to birds, according to the group. To prove the point, the EWG commissioned two tests. The purpose of the tests was to prove that dangerous chemicals are released when non-stick cookware is preheated on a regular stove. In the first test, a Teflon-coated pan reached 736 degrees F within three minutes and 20 seconds with the burner placed on high heat. In the second test, a Teflon-coated pan reached 721 degrees F within five minutes. DuPont acknowledges that at 660 degrees F, the coating begins to break down and releases toxic chemicals into the air. These toxic chemicals include monofluoroacetic acid, also called compound 1080. MFA is deadly to humans, and has been used in pesticides and as a chemical warfare agent. The EWG says the chemical breakdown of non-stick coatings can kill birds and cause polymer fume fever in humans.

Cholesterol

• Perfluorooctanoic acid is a chemical used on non-stick cookware. It poses possible health hazards, according to the results of the C8 Health Project, published in the September 2010 issue of the "Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine." The study participants were 12,476 children exposed to the chemical through drinking water. The researchers of the study concluded, “PFOA was significantly associated with increases in total cholesterol and LDL-C” and “warrants further study.”

Low Birth Weight

• Infants exposed to perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid in the womb may have a lower birth weight and smaller head size, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The researchers tested the umbilical cords of almost 300 newborns born vaginally. Perfluorooctanoic acid was found in every sample. The lead author of the study, Benjamin Apelberg, Ph.D., noted that the impact on health is uncertain and that more testing is needed.

Cooking Methods

• The dangers associated with non-stick coatings are directly related to the way the non-stick pan is used, according to Robert Wolke, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. Normal cooking will not cause the release of dangerous chemicals, Wolke says. however, overheating an empty or almost empty non-stick pan might. If a non-stick coated pan is allowed to reach 600 degrees, “all kinds of toxic chemicals are released.” Wolke’s statement confirms those of the EWG and DuPont; cooking temperature is directly related to the dangers associated with non-stick cookware.