<keyword id="22524198" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nonstick-cookware" source="keywords">Nonstick cookware</keyword> with its <keyword id="22334184" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Teflon" source="keywords">Teflon</keyword> coating has had a bad reputation since the early 2000s, cancer being one of its many alleged evils. And yet, not only is a nonstick pan found in almost every kitchen, it is also among the most-loved dishes to cook with — <em>who doesn’t like it when their dosa comes out perfectly crisp AND lifts off the tawa off its own accord without having to scrape? </em>But if recent news around the ‘<keyword id="22524197" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Teflon-flu" source="keywords">teflon flu</keyword>’ is having you eye your beloved nonstick rather suspiciously, we gotchu.<br /><br />According to a recent report, over 250 Americans were hospitalised last year due to a condition called ‘<keyword id="22541724" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="teflon-fever" source="Orion">Teflon fever</keyword>’, formally known as <keyword id="22541725" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="polymer-fume-fever" source="Orion">polymer fume fever</keyword>. Its symptoms range from mild flu-like symptoms such as headache and body aches to more severe conditions requiring medical attention.<br />  <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="91352745" title="Healthy people are at-risk of liver disease from &amp;#39;forever chemicals&amp;#39; in takeout containers and non-stick pans, scientists say" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><h2>What is Teflon flu?<br /></h2>Teflon, or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), is a synthetic chemical that creates a non-stick surface on cookware. While convenient, it can pose <keyword id="19977451" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="health-risks" source="keywords">health risks</keyword> if mishandled. When Teflon-coated cookware is overheated — to above 500°F (or 260°C), the coating can deteriorate, releasing harmful fumes into the air. These fumes contain a complex mix of fluorinated substances that can cause flu-like symptoms when inhaled.<br /><br />While Teflon cookware is a common culprit, it's important to note that other sources can also lead to similar symptoms. For instance, people working in welding or metal-related industries are at risk of metal fume fever, caused by inhaling fumes from heated metals.<br /><br />Symptoms of both Teflon flu and metal fume fever can include fever, chills, cough, chest tightness, and muscle aches. And if you experience these symptoms after exposure to fumes, it's essential to seek medical attention.<br /><br /><h2>How to prevent Teflon flu?</h2>To minimise the risk of Teflon flu and prolong the life of your cookware, follow these guidelines:<br /><br /><strong>Avoid overheating!</strong><br />Teflon flu becomes a problem when the nonstick cookware is heated past the 260°C-mark. However, this is rare as the temperature most meats and other foods are looked at is 75°C or hotter. <br /><br />When cooking on a Teflon-coated pan, using medium or low heat is recommended to prevent high heat from damaging the coating and releasing harmful fumes. If you’re looking to broil or sear your food, then avoiding your nonstick and opting for an iron skillet instead is recommended.<br /><br />Also, never heat your nonstick without oil or food already in it to prevent overheating.<br /><br /><strong>Proper ventilation<br /></strong>To avoid inhaling any fumes that your Teflon-coated pan might be emanating, using the kitchen exhaust fan or opening the windows might be ideal.<br /><br /><strong>Utensil care<br /></strong>The other major concern with Teflon coating is that it has been linked to various health conditions upon ingestion. One must avoid scratching it and only use wooden or silicone spatulas on it. Metal utensils can damage the coating and increase the risk of overheating, as well!<br /><br /><strong>Gentle cleaning<br /></strong>Again, to avoid scratching your nonstick pan, wash it with warm, soapy water and a soft sponge is important. Abrasive scouring pads or steel wool are a big no on Teflon-coated cookware. You can consider soaking your nonstick for a bit in case of stubborn residue, but leaving it in water for a long time can damage its coating and shorten its lifespan over time. <br /><br /><strong>Replace when necessary<br /></strong>This is perhaps the most important point to note: throw away your pans if they start to peel, flake or chip and find a replacement.<br />  <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="95388062" title="A single scratch on a Teflon nonstick pan can release thousands of microplastic particles, study suggests" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>While Teflon cookware is usually deemed safe when used properly, it's also versatile and relatively cheaper than cast iron and carbon utensils. But hey, if you’re still uncertain about good old nonstick, there’s plenty of other options to explore!<br />

5 tips to prevent ‘Teflon flu’ and use your nonstick pans safely

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rainwater-no-longer-safe-to-drink-anywhere-study-forever-chemicals-2022-8">Hazardous "forever chemicals" called PFAS</a> are contaminating drinking water, food, and air.</li><li>It may be impossible to completely avoid PFAS, but there are a few simple ways to reduce your exposure.</li></ul><p>Hazardous, long-lasting "forever chemicals" are all over our day-to-day environments. The US Environmental Protection Agency just announced it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/epa-hazardous-forever-chemicals-drinking-water-limits-2024-4">first rules to remove forever chemicals from tap water</a>, but that won't eliminate them from your home.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-are-pfas-forever-chemicals-health-impacts-products-exposure-2023-3">Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS</a>, is a class of thousands of man-made substances that are common in everyday objects. Peer-reviewed <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pfas/our-current-understanding-human-health-and-environmental-risks-pfas">studies</a> have linked them to some <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/study-confirms-link-between-forever-chemicals-and-liver-cancer-risk-2022-8">cancers</a>, decreased fertility, thyroid disease, and developmental delays, among other health issues. </p><p>That's bad news since <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chart-how-long-hazardous-forever-chemicals-pfas-stay-in-blood-2023-3">PFAS last for decades without breaking down</a>, earning them the "forever chemicals" nickname. Researchers have found them in drinking water, household dust, rainwater and soil across the planet, in the oceans, at both poles, and drifting through the atmosphere.</p><p>Ian Cousins, an environmental chemist who studies PFAS at Stockholm University, fears it's impossible to avoid the chemicals.</p><p>"I don't bother," Cousins told Business Insider in 2022, adding, "It's almost mission impossible. You can't really do it."</p><p>Even though you can't completely dodge PFAS, there are a few easy ways to reduce exposure in your daily life.</p><h2>Eat at home, with minimal grease-resistant packaging</h2><div type="image" title="two adults one child eat dinner at a table with paper plates and bouquet of flowers" height="1533" width="2044" msid="94270684" hostid="261"></div><p>PFAS were developed in the 1940s to resist heat, grease, stains, and water. That means they've ended up in a lot of food packaging. That includes pizza boxes, microwave popcorn bags, some wrappers, and grease-resistant paper.</p><p>Restaurants and fast-food chains may use such packaging more than grocery stores do. A 2019 <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/EHP4092">study</a> found that people had lower PFAS levels in their blood after eating at home, and higher levels after eating fast food or at restaurants.</p><p>Still, Cousins said, "All food is contaminated with PFAS."</p><h2>Be careful with nonstick pans</h2><div type="image" title="red onion slices cooking in a black pan" height="2832" width="3775" msid="94270686" hostid="261"></div><p>The coating used in nonstick cookware usually contains PFAS, and they can easily leach into your food at high heat and once the coating gets scratched.</p><p>The Washington Department of Ecology <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6WfpWnIpLc">advises</a> against heating nonstick cookware above 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and recommends throwing it out once the nonstick coating scratches. Cast-iron pans are a safe alternative.</p><p>Cousins, however, said "Scratching on pans is not a problem for exposure." He added that there are low levels of harmful PFAS in Teflon coating, but the worst of it was phased out in the early 2000s.</p><h2>Ditch your stain-resistant carpet and fabrics</h2><p>Water-resistant and stain-resistant treatments, common on household items like carpets and clothing like raincoats, also contain PFAS. Some researchers don't think the chemicals can easily absorb into your body through your skin, but those fabrics shed fibers that can travel through the house as dust, eventually getting ingested or inhaled.</p><p>"You can find things that don't have PFAS, and then that in turn helps those companies that innovated," Elsie Sunderland, who leads environmental contaminants research at Harvard, told BI in March 2023.</p><h2>Vacuum, dust, and open the windows</h2><div type="image" title="man opens sliding glass door window in living room" height="1423" width="1898" msid="94270688" hostid="261"></div><p>PFAS accumulate in dust, which lingers in the air and allows humans to breathe the chemicals into their lungs or ingest them. By dusting and vacuuming regularly, along with opening windows to allow for airflow and ventilation, you can keep dust levels low in your home and reduce the amount of PFAS you swallow.</p><p>"Dust can be a big [PFAS] source in the indoor environment," Sunderland said.</p><p>In fact, she added, "A lot of different contaminants absorb to dust. So if you wipe surfaces regularly and you keep areas clean, then you actually minimize exposures."</p><h2>Test and maybe treat your drinking water</h2><p>You can test your water for PFAS through a laboratory certified by your state. If the water exceeds EPA or state guidelines, you may want to consider doing something about it, especially if you have children.</p><div type="image" title="Person filling water bottle from sink faucet" height="1666" width="2222" msid="94270690" hostid="261"></div><p>Even at very low levels, exposure to two of the most common PFAS — called PFOA and PFOS — has been <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2105018118">linked</a> to <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/index.html">decreased vaccine response in children</a>.</p><p>That research prompted the EPA to revise its drinking-water guidelines in 2022, decreasing the safe levels of those substances by a factor of 17,000. Then the agency issued a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-proposes-designating-certain-pfas-chemicals-hazardous-substances-under-superfund">proposal</a> to classify those two PFAS as hazardous substances. Now it's strictly regulating their levels in drinking water, but it's giving officials five years to ensure their water systems comply with the new rules.</p><p>In the meantime, a few types of water filters can diminish PFAS levels, though they may not completely remove the chemicals from the water. <a href="https://www4.des.state.nh.us/nh-pfas-investigation/?page_id=171">State</a> environmental <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/pfasresponse/drinking-water/filters">departments</a> recommend filtration systems that use reverse osmosis for tap water. Those are usually installed under the sink, and they can cost several hundred dollars.</p><p>The second-best option is filter systems that use activated carbon (aka charcoal), which can be installed on faucets house-wide or used in a tabletop pitcher, but a 2020 <a href="https://nicholas.duke.edu/news/not-all-home-drinking-water-filters-completely-remove-toxic-pfas">study</a> found mixed results from those systems.</p><p>If you get your drinking water from a well, the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pfas/meaningful-and-achievable-steps-you-can-take-reduce-your-risk">EPA</a> recommends testing it regularly and contacting your state environmental or health agency for certified labs and safety standards.</p><h2>Check before you buy cosmetics</h2><div type="image" title="woman applies eyeliner to another womans eye" height="1600" width="2133" msid="94270693" hostid="261"></div><p>In 2021, a group of researchers published the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-avoid-cancer-linked-forever-chemicals-pfas-in-makeup-2021-7">results</a> of testing 231 cosmetic products in the US and Canada for PFAS. More than half the products contained indicators of the chemicals.</p><p>The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has a public, searchable <a href="https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/">database</a> of cosmetics and personal-care products, highlighting ingredients with potential risks to human health, such as PFAS like Teflon. They also maintain a <a href="https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/pfas_contamination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">map</a> where you can check if you live near a PFAS contamination site.</p><p>The Green Science Policy Institute also keeps a list of <a href="https://pfascentral.org/pfas-free-products/">PFAS-free products</a>, including cosmetics brands.</p><p>Ultimately, Cousins said, people don't need to be "super worried" about low-level exposure, since there's no strong evidence of major health impacts across the population. In the US, manufacturers have phased out the most harmful known PFAS — PFOA and PFOS — since the early 2000s. Over the last 20 years, levels of those substances in human blood have dropped, according to the <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/us-population.html#:~:text=Since%202002%2C%20production%20and%20use,declined%20by%20more%20than%2070%25.">CDC</a>.</p><p>Still, reducing PFAS use in consumer products could keep the problem from getting worse in the future. </p><p>"I think we should use this to get a bit angry about what's happened and try and make change, so that we don't keep doing this," Cousins said. "Maybe we have to use [PFAS] in some cases, but only when they're absolutely essential. And then we should also try to innovate, to try and replace them in the longer term."</p><p><em>This story has been updated in light of the US EPA's new limits on six PFAS in drinking water. It was previously updated to reflect disagreements in the scientific community about the degree of PFAS exposure from Teflon. It was originally published on September 17, 2022.</em></p>

Hazardous 'forever chemicals' in water, food, and air won't disappear with new EPA rules. But 6 simple tactics can reduce your exposure at home.

<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/partners-for-a-sustainable-future"></a></p><div type="image" title="fast food in packaging laid out on a table" height="2847" width="3797" msid="85406076" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>"Forever <keyword id="25943" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="chemicals">chemicals</keyword>," also known as PFAS, which are found in products like Teflon and wrappers are polluting the environment and us.</li><li>Nonprofit Mind the Store educates retailers on why they need to eliminate PFAS from their products.</li><li>It works as a resource for brands like Whole Foods to get in front of the story and achieve their mission.</li></ul><p>Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a class of some 9,000 toxic chemicals used to make products waterproof, greaseproof, heatproof, and stain-resistant.</p><p>Better known as "forever chemicals," PFAS are commonly found in things such as Teflon nonstick coating, fast-food burger wrappers, and cosmetics.</p><p>Their chemistry means they take thousands of years to break down under typical environmental conditions. In other words, what makes them useful in products makes them bad for the environment and bad for us - creating a pollution crisis that's been called a "<a href="https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news-release/final-version-water-bill-puts-pork-ahead-pfas-pollution">public health emergency</a>" by research and advocacy organization the Environmental Working Group.</p><div type="image" title="a food packaging graphic" height="1500" width="1500" msid="85406082" hostid="261"></div><p>The <a href="https://saferchemicals.org/mind-the-store/">Mind the Store campaign</a> helps to mitigate the effects of these "forever chemicals" by partnering with large retailers and developing comprehensive chemicals policies.</p><p>"We do everything from publishing an annual report card that benchmarks retailers on their chemical policies - or lack thereof - to commissioning independent scientific research investigating chemicals of concern in food packaging and other products," Mike Schade, director of the Mind the Store campaign, told Insider.</p><p>The campaign has resources designed for <a href="https://toxicfreefuture.org/pfas-free-paper-food-packaging-alternatives-a-resource-for-restaurants-and-retailers/">grocery chains</a> and <a href="https://saferchemicals.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/pfas-free_food_packaging_alternatives_sample_september_2020.pdf">fast-food</a> outlets, which list safe alternative products and suppliers that produce them. They also have <a href="https://saferchemicals.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/guidance_for_grocery_pfas_phaseout.pdf">tailored guides</a> to <a href="https://saferchemicals.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/guidance_for_quick_service_restaurant_pfas_phaseout.pdf">help brands</a> through the process, run webinars and workshops, and connect businesses with each other to share experiences.</p><h2><strong>Working with brands directly is the most effective method over public statements</strong></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="fast casual food packaging laid on a table" height="2512" width="3349" msid="85406085" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><p>Mind the Store isn't afraid to go after iconic names with loud campaigns. A recent petition called "<a href="https://saferchemicals.org/mind-the-store/">Tell Burger King: Stop making toxic trash</a>" gained significant media attention and prompted other fast-food outlets like Wendy's to <a href="https://www.mashed.com/396145/wendys-just-became-the-latest-restaurant-to-ban-this-toxic-chemical/">commit to banning PFAS from their products</a>.</p><p>"In the summer of 2018, we sent letters to roughly 75 top fast-food and grocery store chains. McDonald's and Wendy's announced commitments to phase out, but Burger King did not take action, so we started this campaign," Schade said, noting that Burger King <a href="https://saferchemicals.org/2021/06/16/burger-king-leadership-addresses-pfas-forever-chemicals-in-food-packaging-for-first-time-ever/">announced in June this year</a> that it was testing alternatives.</p><p>But while Schade has seen success through these kinds of campaigns, he's found that the best way to get brands on board is by acting as a partner and sharing their test results before they're made public.</p><p>"We want to build trust with retailers," he said. "What we like to do is give them an opportunity to get out in front of an issue and begin to make change." </p><p>Schade believes that reaching out to these companies ahead of Mind the Store's first report in 2018 led to "even greater dialogue" than if they'd only released it to the media.</p><p>"We share information with them on better alternatives, helping them manage the process and providing policy recommendations and technical assistance, and outlining steps that they can take to improve," he said.</p><p>Getting brands' attention is important, so Mind the Store continues to publish report cards and test products publicly to pressure brands to change and empower consumers.</p><p>"Our goal is to make transformative change, and we've found that when we can share our research, it can help to build a relationship, build a dialogue, and increase trust," he said.</p><h2><strong>Businesses should take advantage of free consulting</strong></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="toxic chemicals in food packaging chart" height="2324" width="2643" msid="85406088" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><p>Schade said that corporations should see NGOs such as Mind the Store as a resource.</p><p>"In many cases, we are essentially providing free consulting work for businesses," he said. "We're telling them that their customers are demanding safer, more sustainable packaging - and scientific evidence is mounting."</p><p>One of the first companies to get on board with Mind the Store's mission was Whole Foods. Jody Villecco, principal quality standards advisor at Whole Foods, told Insider that the chain takes a collaborative approach to corporate engagement and works with retailers to move the industry in the right direction.</p><p>The relationship with Mind the Store operates like your standard retailer/NGO partnership. That is, it focuses on information sharing, joint advocacy, and, in select instances, collaboration on the development of safer chemicals policies.</p><p>"Mind the Store's work raising awareness about the presence of PFAS in food packaging is unparalleled. We have appreciated their knowledgeable support along the way as Whole Foods Market strives to steadily continue expanding our safer chemicals policies," she said.</p><h2><strong>The next step is banding together for legislation</strong></h2><p>Campaigns about forever chemicals are seeing a <a href="https://grist.org/regulation/congress-is-finally-starting-to-do-something-about-toxic-pfas-chemicals/">demand for legislation</a>, and Mind the Store is helping companies understand what's coming down the pipeline.</p><p>"There's a real lack of supply-chain transparency, and the testing that we commission is oftentimes a wake-up call for most businesses," Schade said.</p><p>Mind the Store has found that competitors tend to follow suit once one brand is on board - and, increasingly, investors are driving change, too. Last December, a shareholder resolution saw <a href="https://saferchemicals.org/2021/01/13/mcdonalds-announces-global-ban-of-toxic-chemicals-in-food-packaging/">McDonald's commit to eliminating PFAS</a> by 2025.</p><p>As successful as much of their outreach and subsequent partnerships have been, Schade said that no one company or partnership can solve these complex <keyword id="49089" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sustainability">sustainability</keyword> challenges alone.</p><p>"Meaningful, comprehensive, and systemic regulation at all levels of government is needed to level the playing field in the business community," he said.</p>

How a nonprofit is working with retail giants like Whole Foods to ditch toxic 'forever chemicals' in products and packaging

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c0ede604a8213031e62fc64-2000/erin Brockovich reverse osmosis.jpg" border="0" alt="erin brockovich reverse osmosis.JPG" data-mce-source="AquaTru" /><p class="source"><span>AquaTru</span></p><p class="caption">Erin Brockovich never drinks water straight from the tap.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Erin Brockovich is a former legal clerk and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/drinking-water" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clean-water</a> advocate who was made famous by Julia Roberts' Oscar-winning portrayal of her in the 2000 film that shares her name. </strong></li><li><strong>Brockovich helped citizens of Hinkley, California fight California Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&amp;E) after unsafe levels of the carcinogen Chromium 6 were found in their water. </strong></li><li><strong>Brockovich told Business Insider that she's "funny" about her own drinking water.</strong></li><li><strong>She offered a few tips for how to determine if your tap water is safe to drink and what to do when it's not. </strong></li></ul><p>If tap water looks like the color of "light pee," <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/erin-brockovich" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Erin Brockovich</a> refuses to drink it. </p><p>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/erin-brockovich-protect-against-contaminated-dirty-water-2017-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">self-billed</a> "water gal" made a name for herself fighting California Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&amp;E) in 1996, when Chromium-6 leeched into tap water in the Mojave Desert. The legal case ended with <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/04/local/me-briefs4.S6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a $333 million settlement</a>.</p><p>At low-level concentrations, the cancer-causing chemical can turn clear water yellow, and when it's really bad, a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/environment-greece-chromium6-dc/river-runs-purple-contaminates-greek-town-idUSL0817394820071205" target="_blank" rel="noopener">water source contaminated with 'Chrome-6' can flow purple</a>. </p><p>But even when tap water is perfectly clear, Brockovich admits she's still "funny about water," and rarely, if ever, drinks straight from a tap. </p><p>"I don't want to drink chlorine. I don't want to drink ammonia. None of us do," Brockovich told Business Insider. "I feel safe enough and know enough about my tap water that I shower and bathe, but I don't know. I don't like how it tastes, smells."</p><p>She said this worry comes from what she sees as an unspoken "emerging crisis" the US: more <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drinking-water-could-get-dirtier-trump-infrastructure-plan-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unsafe drinking water is flowing out of our taps</a>, and our system is unprepared to deal with the problem.</p><p>These days, Chromium 6 (now sometimes called "Erin Brockovich chemical") is not her main concern.</p><p>"Right now, the largest emerging contaminant in the nation in water is PFOA - <span>Perfluorooctanoic acid,</span>" Brockovich said.</p><p><span>PFOA is a manufactured chemical that may be best known as Teflon, the non-stick substance that lets you easily slide scrambled eggs out of a pan. It's part of a broad class of thousands of man-made chemicals </span>called PFAS (<span>perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances), that can be stain-proof, water-proof, and fire-proof.</span></p><p><span><em><strong>Read More</strong></em>: <em><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-are-pfas-chemicals-2018-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dangerous 'forever chemicals' have been found in US drinking water at alarmingly high rates - here's what to know about PFAS</a></em></span></p><p><span>Unfortunately, the same qualities that make PFAS good at suppressing fires, keeping pants stain-free, and repelling rain means they </span><span>don't break down in the environment. Instead, the artificial chemicals remain intact in water and air for thousands of years. </span></p><p><span>They can also easily build up in the human body as they move from the water we drink into our bloodstream</span><span>. Experts agree that every person has at least some PFAS in their system. Excessive exposure to the chemicals can be linked to health problems including</span> low<span> </span><a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1408837/">birth rates</a>, <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp200.pdf">liver damage, </a>high<span> </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831917/">cholesterol</a>, chronic<span> </span><a href="https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/174/8/893/155305">kidney disease</a>, <a href="https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84875892899&amp;origin=inward&amp;txGid=844879ea1025c14294130641a08571ef">asthma</a>, <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1001898/">attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder</a><span> </span>(ADHD), <a href="https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84856182161&amp;origin=inward&amp;txGid=5669c5a51fb731893718348e90b9d512">immunization resistance</a><span> </span>in children, early<span> </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29986037%20">menopause</a>, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29777922#%20">colon ulcers.</a></p><p>"<span>I think we're pretty convinced that these chemicals are immune toxicants that we should be concerned about," Linda Birnbaum, a microbiologist who directs the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at the National Institutes of Health, </span><span>said last month. </span></p><h2><span>Why 'forever chemicals' like PFOAs are in the water</span></h2><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c0fa5526bc3e30ce05a1372-1024/340904995974e532b2d7b.jpg" border="0" alt="teflon pan" data-mce-source="Flickr/Apreche" data-link="www.flickr.com/photos/apreche/3409049959/" /><p class="source"><span><a href="www.flickr.com/photos/apreche/3409049959/">Flickr/Apreche</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p>PFAS chemicals were <a href="https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/investigations/drinkingwaterresponse/docs/atsdr_pfas_factsheet.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">darlings of chemical-industry</a> leaders like 3M and DuPont for much of the 20th century following their discovery in the 1930s. PFAS were championed for their ability to fight grease (Teflon) and repel water (GoreTex and Scotchguard), They were also used to make a firefighting foam used at military bases around the country.</p><p>But <a href="http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/hazardous/topics/pfcs/history.html">waste dumped</a><span> from chemical manufacturing plants can contaminate groundwater with PFAS chemicals, and they can also seep into </span><a href="https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2018/02/21/newburgh-takes-first-step-in-suing-state-feds-over-water-contamination-268671">lakes and other freshwater sources</a><span> after firefighting foam gets used. PFAS are extremely persistent, so if they leech out of household products like cooking pans or if  people unwittingly drink or inhale them, the chemicals bio-accumulate in our bodies. Then they're pretty much with us for life.</span></p><p><span>Researchers from <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.estlett.6b00260">Harvard estimated in 2016</a> that at least 6 million Americans - nearly 2% of the population - were drinking water with PFAS levels higher than what the EPA recommends. EPA testing done between 2013 and 2015 found significant amounts of PFAS in public water supplies in 33 US states</span></p><p>Eight big chemical companies in the US (including DuPont and 3M) voluntarily phased out the chemicals in their products and replaced them with new ones by 2015. But those replacements are largely still unregulated by the EPA, and little is known about what they might do to us.</p><p>"We've got about 80,000-plus chemicals that just go onto the market and, 'oh, we'll find out later down the road how that turns out for us,'" Brockovich said. "PFOA is a perfect example of this." </p><p>Meanwhile, PFAS chemicals are still found in many other products, like stain-resistant carpets and fabrics, food packaging, raincoats, and even some cosmetics. Though the concentrations of PFAS we're exposed to through these sources is tiny, scientists like <span>Birnbaum</span> are increasingly concerned that even household dust may have elevated concentrations of the chemicals. </p><h2><span>How to ensure your water is safe to drink</span></h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ac7ff7afc23b31d008b4a3c-2000/2018-04-06t210919z1lynxnpee351szrtroptp4michigan-water.jpg" border="0" alt="flint michigan bottled water" data-mce-source="Jim Young/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Volunteers distribute bottled water to help combat the effects of the crisis when the city's drinking water became contaminated with dangerously high levels of lead in Flint, Michigan, March 5, 2016." /><p class="source"><span>Jim Young/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Volunteers distributed bottled water in Flint, Michigan after the city's drinking water was contaminated with dangerously high levels of lead, March 5, 2016.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The first thing you can do if you're worried about the quality of your tap water is read your local water report. The Environmental Protection Agency makes <span>an </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bottled-water-facts-science-healthy-2017-4/%23but-research-suggests-that-for-most-americans-the-stuff-in-a-bottle-is-not-better-for-you-than-the-stuff-in-your-tap-in-fact-a-recent-report-found-that-almost-half-of-all-bottled-water-is-actually-derived-from-the-tap-but-may-be-further-processed-or-tested-for-safety-in-2007-pepsi-aquafina-and-nestle-pure-life-had-to-change-their-labels-to-more-accurately-reflect-this-7">annual drinking-water report available online</a>,<span> and there's also an independent tap-water database from the </span><a href="https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/#.Wk0SehNSyi6">Environmental Working Group</a><span>. </span></p><p>There are also a few ways to get rid of PFAS chemicals in your water. Experts like Birnbaum generally agree that reverse osmosis is one of the best techniques - that's what Brockovich opts for. She has even agreed to endorse a filtering product for the first time ever: the <a href="https://www.aquatruwater.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AquaTru home water filter.</a></p><p>Using the reverse-osmosis filter is "the most certain way to clean your water," Brockovich said.</p><p>AquaTru works a lot like a filtered water pitcher. You place it on the counter, plug it in, and fill the purifier with water from the tap. Then it takes about 15 minutes for the tank to clean a gallon of water before it's ready to drink.</p><p>At around $470 (not including replacement filters), AquaTru is more expensive than a reverse-osmosis system you might buy at the hardware store, but most other filters require under-the-counter installation.</p><p>Brockovich said that when she's away from home, she opts for bottled water (though she tries to buy water in glass bottles, since <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-drinking-plastic-does-to-your-body-2018-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plastic can leech chemicals</a>). She doesn't like the pollution bottled water creates, but Brockovich said she feels safer drinking water that has probably been filtered more thoroughly than the stuff that comes out of the tap.</p><p>That's not true everywhere, though. Some states, like New Jersey, Vermont, and Connecticut, have adopted more stringent PFAS regulations than the EPA has. </p><p>Plus, bottled water is <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/29/AR2007072900063.html?noredirect=on" target="_blank" rel="noopener">often just treated tap water,</a> and the products are generally <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-610" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less regulated than what comes out of the tap</a>. As <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/pictureofamerica/pdfs/Picture_of_America_Drinking_Water.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Centers for Disease Control</a> points out, "there are no requirements that bottled water quality data be reported to any federal agency or to the public."</p><p>Most bottled water sold in the US today is run through a filtration system before it gets packaged. Some labels even include the words "reverse osmosis." But the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm203620.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Food and Drug Administration (FDA)</a> lets companies use the label "purified water" on water that's been treated in several different ways, so it's not always clear how it's been filtered.  </p><p>Brockovich also suggests people do their own visual inspection of tap and bottled water, and trust their instincts.</p><p><span>"Y</span>ou're not going to convince me when I'm looking at yellow water, green-yellow, brown water, water that looks like diarrhea, that it's going to be safe to drink," she said. "I let consumers know, use your own common sense ... if it looks funny or smells funny, don't drink it."</p><h2>The EPA can't say for sure if your water is safe to drink</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b73341780eb351f008b515e-1400/pfas epa contaminated drinking water .jpg" border="0" alt="pfas epa contaminated drinking water " data-mce-source="AP Photo/Matt Rourke" data-mce-caption="US Environmental Protection Agency's Peter Grevatt, Director of the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water and Cosmo Servidio, Regional Administrator for the Mid-Atlantic Region, listen to members of the public comment during a PFAS Community Stakeholder Meeting, on in Horsham, Pa. In Horsham and surrounding towns in eastern Pennsylvania, and at other sites around the United States, the foams once used routinely in firefighting training at military bases contained per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. EPA testing between 2013 and 2015 found significant amounts of PFAS in public water supplies in 33 U.S. states." /><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Matt Rourke</span></p><p class="caption">Peter Grevatt, director of the EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, and Cosmo Servidio, regional administrator for the mid-Atlantic region, listen to members of the public comment during a PFAS Community Stakeholder Meeting in Horsham, Pennsylvania. In Horsham and other sites around the US, the foams once used in firefighting training at military bases contained PFAS.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Although the EPA monitors our tap water, the agency admits it's a tricky job. </p><p>"The EPA and public may not know if water arriving at taps meets national drinking water standards," the agency wrote in a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-05/documents/_epaoig_20180508-18-n-0174.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">May 2018</a> report.</p><p>So an EPA stamp of approval does not always mean everything's alright in your home.</p><p>Water-quality data for cities and towns around the country is required to be reported every year, and it's available on the <a href="https://ofmpub.epa.gov/apex/safewater/f?p=136:102::::::" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EPA's website</a>. But it's easier to find water-quality reports for <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/drinking_water/wsstate.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a big municipality like New York</a> than it is to retrieve information on smaller towns like South Bossier Parish, Louisiana. Health department officials there recently found deadly <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/09/28/brain-eating-amoeba-found-south-bossier-water-system/1461438002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brain-eating amoebas</a> in the water system. </p><p>There are also many chemicals that the EPA doesn't test for. Unlike the FDA, which scrutinizes drugs and medical devices for years before they enter the consumer market, there's no preemptive EPA approval process for chemicals. </p><p>Aging infrastructure is also to blame for water contamination. <span>The </span><a href="https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/">American Society of Civil Engineers</a><span> gave the US' tap-water systems a D grade on its 2017 report card. </span></p><p>The EPA estimates that over <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/two-kansas-projects-are-invited-apply-wifia-loans-finance-275-million-water" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$743 billion</a> is needed for improvements to the country's decaying water infrastructure.</p><p>But Brockovich isn't holding out hope that'll happen anytime soon.</p><p>In fact, the Trump Administration is set to do the opposite. Trump's EPA is <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/environmental-protection-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">set to propose a rollback</a> on Tuesday that would undo decades-old protections for wetlands and streams that help <a href="http://www.haverhillma.gov/departments/wetlands_functions_and_values/wetlands_and_water_supply.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">maintain the quality</a> of our water supply. This is in addition to the administration's previous proposal to cut regulations on how <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drinking-water-could-get-dirtier-trump-infrastructure-plan-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dirt can be dumped</a> into US waters, which was part of a failed infrastructure package that didn't make it to the floor of Congress.</p><p>"Superman's not coming," Brockovich said. "You need to inform yourself, educate yourself, be aware, use common sense."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/erin-brockovich-protect-against-contaminated-dirty-water-2017-8">Erin Brockovich reveals how she protects herself against contaminated water in America and abroad</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/LjoKF9RF-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

You Searched For "is nonstick bad for health" and got 4 results

5 tips to prevent ‘Teflon flu’ and use your nonstick pans safely

Ashmita Gupta

Hazardous 'forever chemicals' in water, food, and air won't disappear with new EPA rules. But 6 simple tactics can reduce your exposure at home.

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How a nonprofit is working with retail giants like Whole Foods to ditch toxic 'forever chemicals' in products and packaging

Elle Hardy

Erin Brockovich is warning about an emerging drinking-water crisis in the US. Here's how she recommends you protect yourself.

Hilary Brueck