Teflon chemical ruled 'toxic'

CHICAGO — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to list a toxic chemical used to make Teflon alongside such well-known persistent pollutants as mercury, lead and PCBs, signaling increasing alarm about its effects on human health.

EPA officials also are increasing pressure on companies to stop using the chemical, called perfluorooctanoic acid, by asking DuPont and six other corporations to voluntarily eliminate PFOA and similar substances from plant emissions and products by 2015.

Regulators still are reviewing potential health risks of such chemicals, which have been used for more than half a century with virtually no government oversight.

A top EPA official said Wednesday there is no reason for people to doubt the safety of products made with the chemicals, which are key ingredients in the manufacture of non-stick cookware, coated food wrappers, rain-repellent clothing and stain-resistant carpets and clothing.

But environmental and health regulators are concerned about PFOA because it is turning up in people and animals throughout the world. Last year, the EPA's independent science advisory board concluded PFOA should be classified as a "likely human carcinogen."

"The science on PFOA is still coming in, but the concern is there and so acting now to minimize future releases of PFOA is the right thing to do," said Susan B. Hazen, acting assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. "It's the right thing to do for our health and our environment."

Under a plan outlined by Hazen, PFOA and related substances would be listed for the first time in an annual tally of chemicals released into the environment by industry. The Toxics Release Inventory has nudged companies to curb other types of pollution by giving regulators and the public more information.

The EPA plan would classify PFOA as a persistent bioaccumulative toxin — a pollutant that builds up in people and animals and takes years to break down.

Other substances already in that category include mercury, lead and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. The agency says "relatively small amounts" of such substances "can pose human and environmental health threats."

Requiring companies to detail their releases of PFOA "should help us and the public understand and appreciate the kinds of progress being made" to reduce emissions, said Charles Auer, a top EPA official who has been leading the agency's investigation.