By Janet Raloff
Teflon and related nonstick materials are made from an ultraslippery compound, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Studies conducted during the past 40 years by many research groups demonstrate that at high temperatures, the polymer can emit airborne poisons, an environmental group reported in a self-published review last week. The fumes can kill birds, and people breathing the emissions can develop flulike “polymer-fume fever,” the reviewers find.
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With widespread use of nonstick cookware, it’s likely “there is a fair amount of polymer-fume fever” each year, says Richard Wiles of the Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C. Because the symptoms in people resemble those of a viral infection, they simply “go unrecognized,” he suspects. The group has just petitioned the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require mandatory warning labels on PTFE-bearing products that are expected to get hot.