Meet Perfluorooctanoic Acid
Aka “PFOA,” “The Magician”
Biography
He’s a renegade magician, with a show-stopping “now you see it, now you don’t” trick. Although not present in non-stick pans themselves, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) can reappear as fumes when pans are overheated and the coating decomposes. But he’s got more than one trick. PFOA also shows up in grease-resistant food packaging, like french fry containers and pizza boxes, and then magically appears in the food. Once he makes an appearance, it’s hard to get rid of the guy; in terms of persistence in the environment, PFOA sticks around for ages and never breaks down.
How to avoid
1. There’s no sure-fire way to completely avoid PFOA or other PFCs until Congress passes the Safe Chemicals Act, legislation that will require chemical manufacturers to demonstrate that their products are safe before they end up in our furniture, cookware, and drinking water.
Until then...
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