PCB, DDT, PVC and CFC are all acronyms that strike fear.
Less well known from the “least wanted” list of toxins are the perfluorochemicals or PFCs. They are the latest collection of man-made chemicals whose intended functions, however benevolent and well intentioned, have become overshadowed by their inherent risks and irrevocable ability to do harm.
Today, PFCs are everywhere. They are the stain repellent in your carpet, the water-repellent membrane in your parka, the non-stick coating in pans. But they are also the most persistent synthetic chemicals in history – chemicals that are found in more than 90 percent of North Americans’ blood, chemicals whose terminal breakdown components are implicated in birth defects, cancer, organ damage and respiratory failure.
Perfluorochemicals were first made commercially available just over 50 years ago. Engineered for their water repellent qualities, low friction and strong chemical bonds, PFCs such as DuPont’s Teflon were rushed into the marketplace to capitalize on their miraculous, space-age characteristics.
The perfluorochemical industry flourished. PFC makers like 3M and DuPont enjoyed massive profits (and in many cases, continue to do so) while regulatory bodies passed over the chemicals that manufacturers claimed were safe.
Recent discoveries, however, show that the truth behind PFCs is as contrary to the chemical industry’s collective assertions as is humanly and scientifically possible.
Many PFCs require the use of perfluorooctanoic acid/C8 (PFOA) and/or perfluorosulphonates (PFOS) in their manufacture. PFOA, as with all members of the PFC family, is highly persistent. For all intents and purposes, it does not biodegrade, at least not for tens of thousands of years.
PFOA is now under scrutiny as a toxin; it has been observed as an off-gas degradation component from common household items, and has been found in both wildlife and human blood as well as human breast milk the world over.
In laboratory tests, PFOA exposure has proven especially dangerous to the unborn. Extremely high mortality rates were observed in rats exposed to levels of PFOA that human children sometimes reach. PFC concentrations are especially high in children, whether as a result of higher exposure rates, or slower metabolism of the chemicals. PFOA and other PFCs are estimated to have a half-life of four and a half years in the human body. For PFOS, another toxic PFC, eight and a half years is a conservative estimate put forth by 3M.
The most sobering fact surrounding the PFC debacle, though, has been the systematic suppression of data collected by DuPont prior to the EPA forcing it to disclose findings.
Although not previously bound by law to make employee medical records and research archives public, or even open to regulatory agencies, one would like to believe that there is an overriding moral obligation on the part of such corporations to disclose details pertaining to hazardous materials that are in use within our homes and in our everyday lives.
Presently, DuPont faces as much as a $300 million fine for decades of putting PFCs on the market when it was unsafe to do so. More than a slap on the wrist but consider that figure in relation to DuPont’s 2004 revenues of $27 billion.
Whatever combination of censure, condemnation and forgiveness we decide to take with these corporations, the toxic facts and the chemicals remain. We’re stuck with PFOA and its off-gas siblings for the long run. As the story develops, the most active role we can take at this point is to better our understanding of the chemicals to learn what it is we are dealing with.
Avenues to explore:
www.ewg.org The Environmental Working Group has loads of info – see especially: PFCs: A Family of Chemicals That Contaminate the World.
www.cbc.ca
CBC Marketplace program from March 20, Something’s in the Air.
www.enn.com Search: ski wax toxicity
Google search: Toxic Teflon.
Email: tyler@hillbillywaxworks.com