Nothing sticks to Teflon, they say — but a key ingredient in Teflon could be sticking to you. A chemical manufactured by Dupont and used to make Teflon and other products may pose health risks for women of childbearing age and young girls, according to an internal U.S. EPA document. The chemical, ammonium perfluorooctanoate, known more commonly as PFOA or C8, accumulates in human blood. A chemical related to C8 had been used in the fabric protector Scotchgard until 2000, when the EPA pressured the 3M company to stop manufacturing it after traces of the chemical were found in the blood of people around the globe. In West Virginia, neighbors of a Dupont plant have filed a class-action lawsuit against the company arguing that C8 has tainted their water supplies. The EPA is expected to announce in April whether it will act to regulate C8 and related chemicals.
