Early C8 results suggest liver, immune impacts of Teflon ingredient

[philb]

May 9, 2008

Early C8 results suggest liver, immune impacts of Teflon ingredient

Researchers believe that C8 may be associated with changes in liver and immune function, as well as higher cholesterol levels in children, according to a preliminary analysis of data from a landmark new health study.

By Ken Ward Jr.

Staff writer

Researchers believe that C8 may be associated with changes in liver and immune function, as well as higher cholesterol levels in children, according to a preliminary analysis of data from a landmark new health study.

"These preliminary results are exactly that - preliminary," said West Virginia University researcher Stephanie Frisbee.

"Right now - first pass - it looks like there may be something there," Frisbee said Thursday. "There is something there that warrants further investigation."

Frisbee and other WVU researchers are poring over blood tests and other data assembled as part of a huge study of C8's possible impacts on the health of nearly 70,000 residents near the DuPont Co. Washington Works plant south of Parkersburg.

The C8 Health Project is a multi-year effort to examine the chemical's possible effects on mid-Ohio Valley residents. It is funded by major portions of a $107.6 million settlement paid by DuPont to settle a lawsuit alleging the company poisoned residents' drinking water with C8. The settlement is also funding a related examination by a three-person science team of possible C8 links to adverse health effects.

C8 is another name for ammonium perfluorooctanoate, or PFOA. DuPont has used the chemical since the 1950s at its Washington Works plant. C8 is a processing agent used to make Teflon and other nonstick products, oil-resistant paper packaging and stain-resistant textiles.

Researchers are finding that people around the world have C8 in their blood in low levels. Evidence is mounting about the chemical's dangerous effects, but regulators have not set a federal standard for its safety.

Earlier this week, a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology linked C8 levels in newborns with smaller abdominal circumference - an indicator of liver size - and decreased birth length.

Last month, initial data from the C8 Health Project reported that residents of communities around DuPont's plant have more than five times more C8 in their blood than average Americans. Over the next six months or so, additional data that examines possible connections between C8 exposure and health effects is expected to be made public.

[cosmik debris]

1. No links?

No bogus lab reports to link to?

I really enjoyed blowing your bogus research out of the water last time you visited this group.

Aren't you going to give me another chance?

[philb]

3. You've never shown any research I"ve posted was not vallid; there you go again

Stick to science; rather than claims without basis

I always cite credible studies- as in this one citing
American Journal of Epidemiology

[cosmik debris]

4. You cited a lab report on a fictitious patient from a fictitious lab.

and I caught you at you silly game.

You commonly cite research that is not valid or related to your point.

You frequently cite research that is anecdotal or inconclusive.

You often cite surveys as if they were actual medical studies.

You just copy and paste without reading or comprehending.

You clearly don't know the difference between science and superstition.

You trade on fear and ignorance because that is all you know.

In short, you are a terrible source of information because you don't have a clue what you are talking about. You are a "cut & paste" Dr. Google with no qualifications or relevant experience. You have no medical background. You are just another wind bag with too much time on your hands.

[Warpy]

2. The last place Teflon should ever be used is in a wok

The second to last place is a frying pan. The stuff gives off fumes at high heat, period, the kind of heat people use to fry stuff.

It's probably OK in saucepans that never get above the boiling temperature.

However, do yourself a favor and get rid of all those Teflon fry pans. Get yourself a cast iron skillet, preseasoned at a yard sale if possible. Those are much slicker than any Teflon pan and they don't poison you, your pets and your kids when you use them.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5350341

http://www.nanomedicine.com/NMIIA/15.3.4.4.htm

The effect on birds and fish is well known. The jury's still out on the effect on humans. Anyone who has ever let a Teflon pan boil dry knows the fumes are unpleasant enough.

Cast iron doesn't have that problem.