A toxic combination

When you start with bad science and add trial lawyers you really have a potential problem and that is what we see currently with Teflon. This substance has long been seen as a useful coating for cooking utensils, but on July 19th two law firms filed a class action suit on behalf of consumers regarding perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The lawyers claim the substance could be hazardous and they want DuPont to pay $5 billion.If the suit is successful whatever is left after attorney's fees would go to replace everyone's cookware and pay for medical monitoring and more research. Note that nobody has died or is even sick.
What happened is an EPA advisory panel concluded research with PFOA given in massive doses to rodents suggested that the substance was "likely" a carcinogen in humans. The problem is rodents are not just little people and in high doses the chemical probably makes the DNA-repair systems of rats and mice go haywire and tumors result. Be that as it may, the new report has nothing to do with Teflon on your cookware. PFOA is destroyed in the manufacturing process used to make Teflon. Several studies have looked at Teflon with an eye to find PFOA associated with Teflon and have come up empty (even the lawyers can't point to studies showing results to the contrary). This will not deter the slimy lawyers, however. They will only argue that DuPont must show that Teflon is not harmful to their consumers. Take that to some sections of Mississippi and Texas and you just won the lottery if you are a sleezy trial lawyer.