DuPont in the news....

[sdgilley]

We know that over-heating teflon coated pans emits a gas that kills birds. DuPont has fought lawsuits from women who worked in their plants and had children with serious birth defects. Now this:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/011905X.shtml
This is something that is in the Ohio news now.

I thought you might be interested... live like a lovebird! Eat your veggies and don't use teflon! ;)

[Janie]

Suzanne, very interesting. I saw yet another report of the dangers of teflon on the Today show recently. All about the dangerous effects to HUMANS and once again, stating that there is no way to be sure how hot is TOO hot. I've burned two pans in my life, to a crisp. Would never have looked at them and recognized them as having been pans! :omg: That is the reason I replaced my teflon, I know it could happen to me again and Oliver spends a lot of time in the kitchen, especially in the winter months. I did keep two teflon's, an egg frying skillet and a grilled cheese skillet. We rarely ever use them and never unless Oliver is out on the porch.

Thanks for the link!

[butterfly1061]

Thanks for the article. I've been thinking about getting rid of my T-Fal and replacing it with a stainless steel set. I know what I'm asking for christmas this year! :D

[linda040899]

My non-stick cookware went bye-bye quite a number of yrs ago but there are still a lot of other uses for non-stick products out there on the market. I'm constantly on alert for products that contain it but we don't realize it. Room heaters and light bulbs are high on my list of questionable items. Did you know that the warming "pads" of most coffee makers are coated with a non-stick surface? Don't know if they get hot enough to release toxic fumes, but then again, how hot is hot enough?

[bellarains]

One more reason for me to have hardwood floors in the new house. Carpet isn't even safe, another good reason for no birdies on the floor. For those who don't know, I'm a huge advocate of no birdies on the floor for very personal reasons. I've also heard of two other's who have lost a lovie due to them being on the floor. Wish I had heard it sooner :(

[sdgilley]

Well, I'm not naturally paranoid, but I always think of the old time coal miners that took canaries down into the mines with them. If the bird died, they got the heck out! I've read that frying bacon crisp is TOO hot with teflon... but why take chances not only with my lovies, but with my children? If I'm doing something in my kitchen that causes birds to drop dead, I should run from it. I don't think DuPont'll quickly admit that teflon is dangerous. Like Linda said, they put it on all sorts of things: hair dryers, irons, etc.

My best find in replacing teflon... is a porcelean coated cast iron skillet. It's heavy! It cooks very evenly and cleans up easily. I use stainless steel for all other pots & pans. I paid $30 for the skillet, but the surface isn't easily damaged so it's lasted me years (got it when I got Peter!).
I expect it to last a long long time.

Something else that scares me about teflon pans: once the surface is scratched, the metal under it is yucky.. and you want to ingest the teflon specks? :x

[Janie]

Something else that scares me about teflon pans: once the surface is scratched, the metal under it is yucky.. and you want to ingest the teflon specks?

Suzanne, the story that I saw recently made strong mention of that very thing. They said that once there is a sinlge scratch, it should be thrown away! All of the teflon that I've had in the past had a scratch after just a couple of uses!

[Paulette]

Well.....that is certainly scary isn't it?!!.....I just bought a new set of teflon pots and pans last summer for 20 bucks.....and gave my old pots and pans to my son......and with my little FO-PAW with the ceramic cover tea kettle....I may just have to go back to the good old cast iron skillet.....I've been feeling a little low on iron anyway. :p