Nonstick Chemicals
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was widely used to make non-stick cookware until it was linked to cancer, liver disease and other risks. Learn how EWG’s research helped get industry to phase it out.
Two decades after pollution from highly toxic fluorinated chemicals was first reported in American communities and drinking water, the number of known contamination sites is growing rapidly, with no end in sight.
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The latest update of an interactive map by EWG and the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute at Northeastern University documents publicly known PFAS pollution from 94 sites in 22 states, including industrial plants and dumps, military air bases, civilian airports and fire training sites. It also shows PFAS pollution of tap water for 16 million people in 33 states and Puerto Rico.
Read MoreEWG has submitted comments to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control on the agency’s proposed listing of carpets and rugs containing PFAS chemicals as a priority product for review as part of the Safer Consumer Products Program.
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Exposure to fluorinated industrial chemicals, known as PFAS or PFC chemicals, may increase the amount of weight that people, especially women, regain after dieting, according to a new study by Harvard University researchers, published in PLOS Medicine. It found that women with higher levels of PFAS chemicals in their blood at the start of the study regained an average of 3.7 to 4.8 pounds more than women with lower levels of the chemicals in their blood.
Read MoreOn Wednesday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed the first state law to ban toxic fluorinated chemicals in food packaging, such as microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes and fast-food wrappers.
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Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt will hold a summit in May on the pervasive contamination of the nation’s drinking water with highly fluorinated chemicals.
Read MoreIn a groundbreaking move, California has proposed that carpets and rugs containing the stain-resistant fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS should be considered a priority product under the state’s Safer Consumer Products program.
Read MoreEWG submits comments to New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection in support of the state’s proposal to lower the Maximum Contaminant Level for PFOS in drinking water.
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It’s not just a poor diet and lack of exercise that can make kids overweight.
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The phaseout of a hazardous chemical formerly used to make Teflon has likely prevented thousands of low-weight births in the U.S. each year, saving billions of dollars in health care costs, says a new study from researchers at New York University.
Read MoreLast year, the Environmental Protection Agency reported that 1 percent of samples from public drinking water systems nationwide were contaminated with PFOA, a nonstick chemical formerly used to make DuPont's Teflon.
Read MoreRobert Bilott, the Ohio attorney who exposed DuPont's cover-up of the dangers of a cancer-causing Teflon chemical, is a 2017 laureate of the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the "alternative Nobel Prize."
Read MoreWhen it comes to PFOA, an extremely potent toxic chemical formerly used to make Teflon, President Trump’s nominee to oversee chemical safety at the Environmental Protection Agency has a sticky history.
Read MoreThree hormone-disrupting chemicals commonly added to processed foods, waterproof clothing and other everyday products may cause obesity.
Michael Dourson, President Trump’s expected nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency’s chemical safety office, has made a career of helping industry stave off or weaken regulations on toxic chemicals.
Read MoreThis week, EWG released two reports.
New research from EWG and Northeastern University in Boston uncovered highly fluorinated toxic chemicals, known as PFCs or PFASs, in the drinking water of 15 million Americans in 27 states, and from more than four dozen industrial and military sources nationwide.
Read MoreThe known extent of the contamination of U.S. communities with PFCs – highly fluorinated toxic chemicals, also known as PFASs, that have been linked to cancer, thyroid disease, weakened immunity and other health problems – continues to expand with no end in sight. New research from EWG and Northeastern University in Boston details PFC pollution in tap water supplies for 15 million Americans in 27 states and at more than four dozen industrial and military sources from Maine to California.
Read MoreLegislation introduced today would make California the first state to ban perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, from fast food wrappers and takeout containers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on any given day one in three American children – no matter their age, race or family income – eat fast food. Hamburgers, french fries, burritos, pizza and other fast food items are often served in paper wrappers or boxes coated with grease-repellent perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, that may harm children’s health.
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