The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to list perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a toxic chemical used to make Teflon, alongside such well-known pollutants as mercury and lead. The EPA plan would classify PFOA as a persistent bioaccumulative toxin, a pollutant that builds up in people and animals and takes years to break down. DuPont, currently the only firm that manufactures PFOA in the United States, has agreed to join the EPA's voluntary program to eliminate releases of the chemical from its manufacturing plants by 2015.
Troubles for Teflon
Teflon
