We have lavished well-deserved praise on McGill University’s Dr. Joe Schwarcz on several occasions over the years. Unlike many of his “science-y” colleagues whose news media megaphones take the sensationalist, “sky is falling” approach to trace levels of anything in the environment, he usually presents a voice of reason amidst the clamor. So it was in his column in a recent posting to the Montreal Gazette, where he has a regular gig (“The Right Chemistry”), entitled Don’t Worry About Teflon Pans. Apparently, even though the “concern” about the fluorinated chemical PFOA was debunked almost a decade ago (see ACSH’s publication here), and even though the amount of PFOA that was present in the finished products was always undetectable, some folks somewhere remained fearful of toxic contamination by this ephemera. So Dr. Joe went to great lengths to explain why they should try to find something else to worry about. Will his simple yet science-based explanation soothe the fears of the worried? Probably not, but good try, Dr. Joe — we applaud the effort nonetheless! Read more.
