Frying pan fumes 'kill canaries'

[The Sushi Bandit]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3441255.stm

Fumes given off by cancer-causing chemicals used to make non-stick frying pans are killing hundreds of pet birds every year, environmentalists say.
The Worldwide Fund for Nature says it is hearing reports that many US caged birds are being killed by the fumes.

It says the chemicals, perfluorinated compounds, are also contaminating both people and wildlife with grave effects.

[bobbieinok]

1. anyone remember the practice of the 'canary in the mine shaft'?

...

[WildClarySage]

2. Why would anyone keep

a canary in their kitchen?

[amazona]

8. it kills all the birds in your house

This story is greatly downplaying the extent of the damage. If a PTFE pot or pan accidentally smokes or overheats, it kills all the birds in your entire house within minutes -- often less than 20 minutes. The bird does not have to be in a kitchen or tiny apartment.

I worked for many years reporting for the pet industry and this problem has been known for a long, long time.

If you have pet birds, the first thing you should do is throw away all nonstick cooking equipment. It only takes one accident. Good old-fashioned properly seasoned iron cookware is just as easy to clean and is MUCH safer.

[Bozola]

3. Grrrr...

There's a little something being left out.

The "fumes" are from overheating the teflon which causes it to breakdown liberating the flourine which is toxic. The flourine gas combines with water in the lungs to form hydrofluoric acid. HF is one of the nastiest acids there is, and it'll kill birds in a fat hurry.

However you've got to be burning the telon for that to happen.

Teflon is NOT in the same ball park as PCBs and Phthalates. At normal environmental conditions teflon is INERT. It's the most damn inert organic there is.

I hate panic articles like this.

[mastein]

4. Thanks,

and welcome, I and a few others around here are reasonable folks who do our best to keep the panic inducers at bay. Thanks for the help. Among us are some real professionals in chemistry, life science and env. sciences.

[BeFree]

6. Back at ya...Grrrr

I don't find this to be a 'Panic' article. It is well known that canaries are/were used in coal mine shafts to detect toxic fumes before they toxified the humans down there.

Yeah, the chemical reaction must have a certain high temperature before it takes place, but I got news for ya, it happens. I did in a pan one day. Come to think of it, I got a nasty upper-respitory infection shortly therafter...hmmmm.

So, I guess it's up to you, Bozola, to inform me of why you call this a Panic article. You admit the fumes from a teflon burn are toxic. Do ya think that fact should not broadcast, or what?

[Bozola]

7. I missed this reply earlier..

Read what you posted:

It says the chemicals, perfluorinated compounds, are also contaminating both people and wildlife with grave effects.

HOW is it contaminating "wildlife with grave effects"? Do deer cook in the wild with teflon over open fires?


It goes on to say:

"Now, canaries are dying in our kitchens, but no action is being taken about the suspect chemicals.


Are budgies in the kitchen wildlife?


Here it's being implicitly lumped with PCBs, phthalates (plastic solvents), and DDT for gawds sake. Why? Because it's dangerous when you burn it, but, of course, they don't come out and say that, do they?

WWF says while the harmful effects of chemicals like DDT and polychlorinated biphenyls have been documented, recent studies of other chemicals on sale today show the dangers to people and wildlife.

It says: "As well as perfluorinated compounds other harmful man-made chemicals still in use today include phthalates, phenolic compounds - such as bisphenol A - and brominated flame retardants (BFRs).

"Phthalates can be found in plastics (including PVC), phenolic compounds in food cans, plastic bottles and computer casings, and BFRs in fabrics and TVs.

This is a classic panic article, lumping a fairly harmless material that with some of the worst chemical offenders.

[amazona]

9. everyone who cooks scorches something

This is the Dupont company line but if you are an experienced cook, you know that everyone at one time or another gets distracted, and something gets burned once in awhile.

It is simply not safe to use nonstick cookware if you own birds. Period. It is not panic. It is just reality. Now if the only cooking you do is to stick leftovers from Wendy's in a microwave, then it isn't an issue. But as a "real" scratch cook and also a bird owner, I am realistic about the fact that people make mistakes and even the best cooks burn things or have small fires sometime.

I also keep a fire extinguisher in my kitchen. Sure, I go years without needing to put out a fire, but when I need it, I need it.

Is that also Panic?

[Kolesar]

5. My Bird-owning buddy will not even use teflon pans

Personally, I like stainless-steel pans with a copper bottom to distribute the heat. If anything sticks, just soak it in hot soapy water and it will come off. I have never had a teflon pan where the coating did not flake off in time. When that happens, I am left with an aluminum surface that the food really sticks to.

I use Revere Ware.