What is Teflon?

Teflon is the general name of all hydrocarbon resins developed by DuPont, including polytetrafluoroethylene, perfluoroethylene propylene and various copolymers. Because of its unique and excellent heat resistance (180℃-260℃), low temperature resistance (-200℃), self-lubrication and chemical stability, it is called "corrosion-resistant, never-sticking PTFE".

The public reaction is dull, and the merchants are cautious.

Is the "non-stick pan" really poisonous?

According to CCTV reports, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on July 8 that DuPont was prepared to impose a heavy fine of 300 million U.S. dollars because it had not told a key raw material for manufacturing PTFE that it might bring potential harm to human health for more than 20 years. It is reported that the most common Teflon product is non-stick pan, and the key raw material for manufacturing Teflon is perfluorooctanoic acid. Dupont issued a statement on the same day, denying that perfluorooctanoic acid is harmful to human body and environment, and said it would clarify the matter within 50 days.

The news came and attracted the attention of the whole country. "DuPont Teflon non-stick pan and other products may contain carcinogens" spread like wildfire. Is Yangzhou affected by this? Yesterday, the reporter visited some shopping malls and supermarkets on the spot, and investigated the Yangzhou non-stick pan market.

The public's reaction is very dull.

Yesterday afternoon, the reporter first walked into Guangrunfa Supermarket. Various brands of non-stick pans are neatly placed on the shelves of supermarkets. The reporter roughly counted, Supor, Asda and other brands have more than 30 kinds of non-stick pans. Opposite the non-stick pan shelf, there are all kinds of woks hanging. The reporter saw that many customers were carefully selecting before the shelves of non-stick pots and iron pots. The reporter asked two citizens who were buying non-stick pans and asked if they knew about the Teflon incident. They all shook their heads and answered no.

The reporter learned from the supermarket sales staff that it is the off-season of non-stick pan sales. On the same day, the sales of non-stick pans and iron pans in supermarkets were as usual, and the sales of non-stick pans and iron pans were 4 and 3 respectively.

Subsequently, the reporter went to Times Supermarket, where there are only two brands of non-stick pots, most of which are iron pots and steel synthetic pots. In front of the shelf, a couple in their forties are choosing a non-stick pan. The reporter asked, they said that the wok and soup pot used at home are all non-stick pots. Now buy a pot, everyone's first choice is a non-stick pot. They believe that if it is finally determined that the non-stick pan contains carcinogens, the relevant departments will definitely not let the non-stick pan be put on the shelves.

Subsequently, the reporter visited other supermarkets and some shopping malls in Yangzhou. As a result, as before, the sales of non-stick pans were hardly affected.

Merchants are more cautious.

Unlike customers who shop in shopping malls, businesses are not as relaxed as customers after hearing about such incidents, and most of them are quite cautious.

The responsible comrades of Guangrunfa Supermarket told the reporter that the "Teflon" incident immediately attracted the attention of the Shanghai headquarters after being reported by the media. On July 12, they received a fax from Shanghai. According to the fax, the headquarters has contacted relevant departments about the safety of DuPont Teflon coating. At present, the non-stick pan series products sold in the store are well-known brands in China, and they are qualified products after being inspected by China Daily Metal Products Quality Supervision and Inspection Center.

When the reporter came to Times Super Shopping Center, the staff of the center said that the varieties of non-stick pots they currently distribute only account for less than one tenth of the supermarket iron pots, so this incident is unlikely to have any impact on them. The staff also said that although there are only one or two brands of non-stick pans in the shopping center, they will contact the relevant manufacturers to keep abreast of the relevant situation.

Whether it causes cancer remains to be verified.

According to the news from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, it is only heard that DuPont's Teflon non-stick pan and other products may contain carcinogens, but whether the specific situation is true or not needs further verification.

The reporter then interviewed some experts and scholars in Yangzhou by telephone. They think whether Teflon causes cancer remains to be tested. If it is true, DuPont and domestic manufacturers and operators should explain it clearly to domestic consumers. For foreign products found to be defective, the state can take certain measures and strategies to improve the access standards and ensure the personal safety of consumers. (Zhang)

Chemical expert analysis: the key to Teflon is ammonium perfluorooctanoate.

On July 8, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that DuPont has not notified a key raw material of PTFE-ammonium perfluorooctanoate (C-8) for 20 years, which may bring potential harm to human health, and it is planned to impose a heavy penalty of hundreds of millions of dollars. After the media disclosed this news, people immediately had doubts and panic about whether Teflon was harmful. In order to answer this question scientifically, the reporter interviewed relevant chemical experts on June 5438+03.

Jian Jiang An, an expert on organic fluorine and former chief engineer of Shanghai Sanaifu New Materials Co., Ltd., told the reporter that he thought people could safely use non-stick pans. The key raw material involved in the Teflon manufacturing process in this incident refers to ammonium perfluorooctanoate, and its decomposition temperature is about 200℃. Whether it is harmful to human body or not, as a processing aid, it is added to fluoropolymer concentrated emulsion in an amount of about four thousandths (based on the amount of fluoropolymer resin), and then sintered at about 380℃ to form Teflon non-stick pan coating. Therefore, there is basically no residual ammonium perfluorooctanoate in the final product of the non-stick pan. Regarding the reporter's question about whether ammonium perfluorooctanoate is harmful to human body, Jian Jiang An replied that this question is inconclusive at present, and the scientific answer should be based on exact data.

Lv Long, deputy director of Shanghai Institute of Organic Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in a telephone interview that we should attach great importance to this incident. Teflon invented by DuPont has undoubtedly made great contributions to human activities, and the ammonium perfluorooctanoate involved needs DuPont to explain to the relevant departments how much it contains and what kind of influence it will have on human body. However, as an ordinary consumer, there is no need to panic. As long as it is not burned and used reasonably, the non-stick pan will not cause harm.

The reporter also interviewed Dr. Cao Wei, general manager of Suzhou Fu Hao New Materials Co., Ltd., who has been engaged in the production and research of organic fluorine for many years. He is extremely concerned about this incident. He said that the punishment that the US National Environmental Protection Agency will impose on DuPont may have a greater impact on China's organic fluorine industry. As a surfactant, ammonium perfluorooctanoate is widely used in organic fluorine industries such as fluoroplastics, fluororubber and organic fluorine fabric finishing agents. If it proves to be harmful to human body, it is necessary to develop its substitutes. At present, it has not started in China, and it is not easy to develop substitutes.