Teflon, Other Chemicals Receive Greater EPA Scrutiny

The Heartland Institute discusses the EPA's new health advisory for chemicals with Angela Logomasini. 

Angela Logomasini, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute who manages its Safechemicalpolicy.org program, says despite EPA’s action, people have little to fear from the miniscule amounts of these chemicals they might be exposed to.

“EPA’s advisory concerning these chemicals has set an extremely cautious standard, creating the impression many communities have ‘dangerous’ levels of these chemicals in their water supplies, but there is no reason to panic,” Logomasini said.

Logomasini says a 2014 study in the journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology found PFOA and PFOS are not linked to human cancer development or other associated health risks.

“Activists and EPA raise fears about traces of these chemicals in our water based on very limited data, mostly studies finding associations between people supposedly exposed to higher-than-average levels and health problems,” said Logomasini. “Such associations do not prove cause and effect and often occur by mere chance, with other studies finding no association or producing inconsistent findings.”

“Even though EPA’s advisory is non-binding it is generating unwarranted fear and bolstering efforts by trial lawyers seeking to cash in by continuing to extort money from companies that once manufactured products containing these chemicals,” Logomasini said.

Read the full article at The Heartland Institute.