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February 4, 2006

U.S. acts against chemical in non-stick pans

Washington wants cuts to controversial emissions while Health Canada holds off

Martin Mittelstaedt
Environment Reporter

Globe and Mail

A new cancer threat from a chemical used to make consumer products ranging from no-stick pans to fast-food containers has U.S. authorities so worried they want a huge reduction in its use. But Canadian regulators aren't taking any moves against the controversial compound.

U.S. regulators concerned about the possible health threat of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, reached an agreement last week with eight companies to slash emissions of the chemical from their facilities by 95 per cent within five years. The same reduction also applies to the content of PFOA in consumer products.

This week, most members of an expert advisory panel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deemed the chemical a likely carcinogen.

But Health Canada said in an e-mail statement that it doesn't plan to follow the U.S. lead, at least not immediately. Federal authorities are conducting a scientific risk assessment, "to find out whether PFOA poses unacceptable risks to the environment or human health. If it does, the government of Canada will take appropriate action," the statement said.

An activist group seeking to have the chemical banned lambasted Ottawa's delay.

"At what point is the Canadian government going to get its act in gear and catch up with the rest of the world?" asked Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence.

PFOA is a virtually indestructible compound that does not occur naturally. It has been in widespread use since the 1970s, when it began to be detected in human blood samples for the first time. Since then, scientists, including researchers in Canada, have noted that trace amounts have started accumulating in humans and wildlife throughout the world, although how people are being exposed to it is not entirely clear.

The chemical is used to make non-stick cookware, such as Teflon pans, and the coatings used on carpets, paper and clothing to give them grease- and stain-repellent properties. Disposable fast-food containers, microwave popcorn bags, raincoats and cosmetics are among common products that may be releasing PFOA.

Health Canada said it believes there is no need for consumers to stop using these products "at the present time," a position similar to that of the EPA.

Still, some companies are moving quickly to get rid of products containing PFOA. McDonald's Canada says its packaging suppliers have already begun a phase-out, and it will be using alternatives that are PFOA-free.

The EPA reduction agreement includes manufacturing giant DuPont Co., and seven other chemical companies. The firms are also committed to work toward eliminating all PFOA use by 2015. They have to meet their 95-per-cent reduction target both in the United States and in their global operations.

Health Canada said PFOA is not produced in Canada, but is imported for use by manufacturers. A spokesman for the Canadian subsidiary of DuPont said it is unaffected by the U.S. action because it doesn't make PFOA in Canada.

Besides its potential as a cancer-causing agent, recent studies on animals have linked PFOA to birth defects, immune-system impairment, developmental delays and liver problems.

There is little doubt many Canadians have the compound in their bodies.

Last year, Environmental Defence had the blood from a representative sample of 11 Canadians from across the country analyzed, and found chemicals related to PFOA in every person tested. The group said its results suggest that contamination of Canadians "may be widespread."

Testing in the United States has suggested that about 95 per cent of the population carry the chemical in their bodies.

Environmental Defence wrote to Environment Canada last month asking that the chemical be banned as a health hazard. "These chemicals have been designed to be indestructible, essentially, so it shouldn't be a surprise that they persist in the environment and that they [accumulate] in us," Mr. Smith said.

Although the U.S. moves to eliminate the chemical are welcomed by environmentalists, Mr. Smith criticized regulators for not ensuring that chemicals are safe before allowing them into widespread commercial use.

"We haven't learned a darned thing since the days of DDT and PCBs," Mr. Smith said, referring to two dangerous chemicals that were banned in the 1970s. "We're on a toxic treadmill. We figure out after the fact that a chemical is dangerous. We yank it off the market, but by the time we do that two more dangerous chemicals have already been released."