Green' Governor pressed to stop Teflon-chemical's '
toxic tresspass' on babies

Sacramento, CA - Today health, labor and environmental groups petitioned Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's appointed commission to list the Teflon-chemical as "known to the state of California" to cause reproductive harm under Proposition 65.
 
"Our government must act quickly to stop the toxic trespass on our babies," said Catherine Houston, mother and business representative of United Steelworkers Local 1304 in San Leandro.   
 
In a recent study, Johns Hopkins University researchers found a link between PFOA - a chemical used to make Teflon - and the lower birth weight and smaller head circumference of newborns.  Of 300 babies, 99 percent had PFOA in their umbilical cords, showing that babies are exposed while still in the womb.
 
PFOA is found in stain and grease repellents, such as Stainmaster®, fast food packaging and microwave popcorn. In addition it can be released from Teflon-coated pans at high cooking temperatures.
 
Proposition 65 is the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986.  If listed as a reproductive toxin, businesses would be prohibited from discharging PFOA into drinking water and be required to provide warnings on consumer items - unless they could show that the exposure creates no significant risk.
 
DuPont is the only industrial producer of PFOA in the United States.  In 2005, DuPont was fined with the largest civil administrative penalty in the Environmental Protection Agency's history for withholding evidence about the risks of PFOA to human health.   Among other things, DuPont withheld a 1981 survey that showed two of eight female workers exposed to PFOA had children with birth defects.  Even though the rate of birth defects found was significantly greater than the general population, the company did not do any further studies.
 
"Protecting our children and families should be the first priority," said James Wheaton, President of the Environmental Law Foundation. "Their health should not be balanced against the chemical industry's profits."
 
The groups include the Healthy Child, Healthy World, United Steelworkers (USW), Sierra Club, Environmental Law Foundation, Environment California, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.