The (Unfounded) Scare: Babies exposed to perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) in the womb may be born at low birth weights. PFOA is a chemical used to produce substances needed to manufacture Teflon and many other products.(19) Research has shown that PFOA is toxic to animals at high doses.
Origin of the Scare: In a study published online in August, researchers tested blood from 1,400 pregnant women in a Danish birth registry.(20) The study claimed that women with high PFOA levels gave birth to babies that were on average four ounces lighter than those born to mothers with low levels. All babies were still of normal weight. Another study, published online in July, tested the cord blood of 300 babies born at John Hopkins hospital.(21) The babies with high exposures to PFOA were found to be thinner with lower birth weights and slightly smaller heads.
Media Coverage: PFOA has made headlines for years. The study in question was published in Environmental Health Perspectives, a journal whose stated goal is to determine the impact of chemicals in the environment on human health.(22) This year, news reports dealing with the topic were found in USA Today as well as on MedPage Today. Study co-author Dr. Joseph McLaughlin of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine said, “the changes are relatively small given that the babies weighed an average of about eight pounds. And even babies with high exposures were still within the normal range for birth weight.”(23) Nonetheless, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supported limiting PFOA despite lack of evidence that it has any negative affects on humans. “The agency is not waiting until all the answers are in,” spokesman Dale Kemery said in an e-mail.(24)
The Bottom Line: It is important to note that while PFOA is often called the “Teflon chemical,” PFOA is not present in Teflon; it is only used in the manufacturing process of the product. Research has shown that high doses of PFOA are harmful to animals. The amount of PFOA to which the general population is exposed is nowhere near comparable to the high doses used in animal studies. PFOA affecting birth weight by four ounces does not imply any real harm to the babies – they were all of normal weight. Additionally, studies of workers (who are exposed to much higher doses of PFOA than the general population) have not shown the same effects in humans that occur in animals.
