Lawsuits filed in S. Florida allege Teflon is linked to cancer

By Ann W. O'Neill
Staff Writer
Posted July 20 2005

For 20 years, one of the nation's biggest chemical companies covered up findings
that
superheated Teflon, the nonstick cookware coating dubbed "the housewife's best
friend,"
can make people sick, a series of federal lawsuits charged Tuesday.

Suits filed in eight states, including Florida, claim Teflon's maker, E.I.
DuPont de Nemours
Co., told the public the product was safe "for conventional kitchen use" when it
knew
Teflon heated above 680 degrees emits toxic chemicals and gases linked to birth
defects,
tumors and cancer in lab animals.


A chemical known as PFOA, or C-8, is responsible for Teflon's nonstick quality.
When
exposed to high heat, it breaks down into toxins, the lawsuit states. The toxins
have been
linked to such ailments as "Polymer Fume Flu" and intestinal and testicular
cancer.

DuPont maintained Tuesday that Teflon is safe. The company "will vigorously
defend itself
against the allegations raised in this lawsuit," spokesman R. Clifton Webb said
in an e-
mailed statement. He noted that anything cooked at such high heat would be
inedible.

Although questions about the safety of Teflon have lingered for years, a
scientific review
panel last month advised the federal Environmental Protection Agency in a draft
report
that the chemical is "likely" to cause cancer in humans.

DuPont is disputing the finding. Nonetheless, it provided the impetus for the
spate of civil
suits, attorneys said. They added that lawsuits would be filed in nearly all 50
states within
a few weeks.

DuPont also faces a criminal inquiry. A federal grand jury in Washington, D. C.,
subpoenaed company records this month. The inquiry is being conducted by the
U.S.
Justice Department's economic crimes section, the suits state.

The lawsuits accuse DuPont of deceptive and unfair trade practices and seek
class action
status as well as warning labels and a large fund to notify consumers, replace
their
cookware, monitor their health and conduct research.

"We're simply telling them to do the right thing," said Fort Lauderdale lawyer
Roy
Oppenheim, who represents 11 people from Broward County. "I grew up with Teflon
being
a revered name. Everybody who bought these pots and pans should be given a
choice to
buy others."

The first of the suits was filed in Miami early Tuesday and has been assigned to
U.S.
District Court Judge Shelby Highsmith. Others followed in California, New York,
Texas,
Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Teflon, DuPont's trademark for the chemical polytetrafluoroethylene, was
invented in
1938. First sold in 1946, Teflon is now a $2 billion-a-year industry.

According to the suit, DuPont may have suspected PFOA's toxic effect as early as
1961.
And, the company has known about widespread PFOA blood contamination since a
1981
worker study -- a link the lawsuits claim was not passed on to the EPA.

If the plaintiffs prevail, the impact would be immense. As DuPont boasts on its
Web site,
"Teflon is really everywhere."

But the plaintiffs' lawyers see it as a matter of corporate accountability.

"I believe the American consumer has the right to be notified," said Miami
lawyer Alan
Kluger.

"I don't have to prove that it causes cancer. I only have to prove that DuPont
lied in a
massive attempt to continue selling their product."

Meanwhile, the scientific review panel is expected to submit its report to the
EPA by the
end of the month.

EPA already has concluded that DuPont failed to meet federal reporting
requirements on
PFOA between 1981 and 2001, but the company disputes that in court. No agreement
has
been reached yet.

Earlier this year, DuPont settled a 2001 class-action suit workers filed over
PFOA.

DuPont set aside $70 million in February to pay for medical screenings for many
of the
80,000 Ohio and West Virginia residents who live near one of the company's
plants. PFOA
was found in the water supply

Ann W. O'Neill can be reached at awoneill@... or 954-356-4531.