8. Non-stick cookware presents a significant health risk to some
Polytetraflouroethylene (PTFE) was discovered by the chemists at DuPont in 1938, and was originally marketed to consumers as a non-stick coating for pots and pans under the name of Teflon. It is also used as a lubricant and in applications where a low friction coefficient is needed; it has one of the lowest of any known substance. As with several modern inventions, it was discovered accidentally during attempts to create another item, in the case of PTFE a new refrigerant. It was used during the Manhattan Project as a coating for valves. In the 1950s it was marketed in pans under the brand Tefal, and in the United States it was marketed under the brand “Happy Pan” beginning in 1961. Throughout the 1960s the use of Teflon coated pans expanded, and products made to be used with the pans emerged which protected the coated surface from scratching. The word Teflon came to be applied to anything to which something cannot stick, particularly scandal or criminal charges, as in the Teflon Don being used to refer to John Gotti.
PTFE begins to breakdown as temperatures approach about 500 hundred degrees Fahrenheit, releasing toxic gases into the air. The gases have been known to be lethal to birds, and continued exposure can result in humans developing symptoms similar to flu, including fever, nausea, and a severe aches and pains. Since nearly all cooking oils scorch at lower temperatures and meats are usually cooked at 450 or lower, exposure to the fumes is avoidable when using range tops, though some self-heating pans and most ovens/broilers can exceed the 500 degree limit. The illness caused by Teflon is known as Polymer Fume Fever by medical professionals and can result in permanent lung injury if exposure is prolonged.