Word: teflon
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What's more, the air-conditioned arena, which lets in natural light through its retractable roof made of woven polyester reinforced with Teflon, also restores a home-field advantage lost to the desert heat. Because of the climate, the Cardinals haven't had a home opener in the open-air Sun Devil Stadium at Arizona State University in Tempe since they moved from St. Louis in 1988. And when they played at home, the 73,000-seat stadium was often half empty. Now, with the eight home games sold out for 2006, "all that positive energy gives our guys...
Unfortunately, it turns out that when Teflon is heated to over 600°, the coating can break down and release a chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA. The fumes can be fatal to pet birds. In humans, DuPont acknowledges, they can cause a reversible flulike condition called polymer-fume fever, first noted in the company's labs. In animals, though, PFOA can cause cancer, immune-system damage and death. And about 95% of all Americans have traces of PFOA in their blood...
...study has proved that cooking with Teflon is harmful to humans. But DuPont paid $107.6 million in 2004 to settle a lawsuit brought by some 50,000 people who lived along the Ohio River near its West Virginia plant. They claimed PFOA contamination had caused birth defects and other health problems. The company admitted no liability but in December 2005 made a settlement with the EPA based on eight violations for failing to disclose its own findings on the safety of PFOA. This April, hearings began in a class action against the company by nonstick-cookware users from 15 states...
...since asked DuPont and seven other companies that use PFOA to phase out the chemical. Although DuPont disputes the classification as a carcinogen and won't stop making Teflon, the company has pledged that by 2015, it will reduce the amount of PFOA used to make the coating and will guarantee that the chemical won't be released into the environment from DuPont manufacturing plants...
While nonstick cooking offers big benefits--ease of cleanup, drastically reduced need for oil--nobody has yet invented a coating that works as well as Teflon. But there's a low-tech solution that dates back hundreds of years: a good cast-iron skillet. It's cheaper than a coated pan, it browns food better, and as for the nonstick factor, when properly seasoned, it's nearly as good...