Since the introduction of these PFAs, there was a realization that due to the chemical’s liquid and fire-resistant properties, it would be perfect for coatings to create non-stick cookware. However, there were consequences found down the line for such a convenient fix. Customers, or more like consumers, would soon find particles of their cookware coating in their food causing concern for their health.
Fears would soon come true when the Environmental Protection Agency in 2006 ordered eight multinational manufacturing corporations represented in the US to phase out the use of such chemicals due to consumers becoming sick from the PFAs by particles and fumes.
“A first-of-its kind study found that people exposed to the highest levels of one type of “forever” chemical – found in nonstick cookware, among other products – were 4.5 times more likely to develop liver cancer. The term “forever” chemicals refer to the more than 4,700 available types of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, used widely across manufacturing industries – named as such because the substances degrade very slowly and build up over time, in soil, drinking water and in the body.”
A study published in JHEP reports built off of existing research said by Jesse Goodrich, a postdoctoral public health researcher at Keck School of Medicine, in a University of Southern California, became the first study to show clear associations between PFAs and nonviral hepatocellular carcinoma (the most common type of liver cancer) in humans.
“Part of the reason there has been few human studies is because you need the right samples,” added Keck School of Medicine professor Veronica Wendy Setiawan. “When you are looking at an environmental exposure, you need samples from well before a diagnosis because it takes time for cancer to develop.”
Measures had to be taken to prove the correlation and causation between PFAs indigestion and the deteriorating health of consumers, so researchers were given access to the Multiethnic Cohort Study database entailing a survey of cancer development in more than 200,000 residents of Hawaii as well as Los Angeles, Calif., conducted by the University of Hawaii. “Their search was narrowed to 100 survey participants – 50 of them with liver cancer and 50 without – whose available blood and tissue samples were sufficient for analysis. Researchers were looking for traces of “forever” chemicals present in the body before the group with cancer became ill.”
The PFOS (a type of PFA) were found in mostly participants that had or have liver cancer, and that those who fell in the top 10% of PFOS exposure were 4.5 times more likely to develop liver cancer than those with the least amount of exposure.
Even though 99 percent of Americans have this forever chemical in our bloodstream, there is hope for us as a nation. PFAs slowly degrade over a long period of time, and instead of adding to the chemical pile in our bodies, let’s help break them down by changing out our cookware that does more harm than good. Stainless steel waterless cookware, such as Kitchen Craft cookware, requires little to no oil or water and utilizes the natural oils and moisture from the food you cook with. Also, Kitchen Craft waterless cookware is made of 7 layers of surgical steel, making it sturdy, an amazing heat distributor, and meant to last a life time with zero chemicals added to your meals. Passing down lifelong cookware can be the key to eliminating PFA’s from cheap and harmful cookware in future generations.
Sparks, H. (2022, August 10). ‘forever’ chemicals in cookware linked to liver cancer in first human study. New York Post. Retrieved January 18, 2023, from https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/forever-chemicals-linked-to-liver-cancer-in-first-human-study/
