Situation

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a chemical process aid used in the manufacture of fluorocarbon polymers such as the PTFE class of fluoropolymer material, which among many other applications, provides the non-stick surface to cookware.

On January 4, 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") issued a Draft Risk Assessment on PFOA and possible negative health effects on human beings, including possible carcinogenicity and reproductive effects. Available information indicated that the general U.S. population may carry low levels of PFOA in the blood stream. The Draft Assessment noted, however, that environmental concentrations of PFOA and the pathways of exposure to the general population are not known. The Agency has submitted the Draft Risk Assessment to its Science Advisory Board ("SAB") for peer review. On January 30, 2006, the SAB released a draft comment which indicates that a majority of its members recommend that PFOA be characterized as a "likely" carcinogen, while other members recommend that it be characterized as a "suggested carcinogen." SAB has announced that it will hold a public meeting regarding its recommendations on February 15, 2006. It is not known when the EPA will finalize its risk assessment, or how it will respond to the SAB's recommendations.

Akzo Nobel position
When cookware is coated with Akzo Nobel's non-stick fluoropolymer coatings, the coated cookware undergoes a baking stage, known as "sintering," which involves process temperatures of typically 800° F (427° C). Under these conditions, PFOA is converted to volatile materials and is not expected to be retained in the finished coating in levels that could, under conditions of reasonably foreseeable use, result in detectable migration to food products.

Users of our fluorocarbon non-stick coatings are advised to follow strictly the application advice given in the relevant Akzo Nobel Non Stick Coatings technical data sheet.

The EPA has stated that it "does not believe there is any reason for consumers to stop using any consumer or industrial related products" because of concerns about PFOA.

Migration studies have been conducted with cookware coated with Akzo Nobel non-stick coatings, and have not shown detectable levels of PFOA. Another migration study has been published which also shows no detectable migration of PFOA from PTFE based non-stick coatings .

A team of scientists from FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the University of Maryland has concluded that coated cookware "does not appear to be a significant source of PFOA which will migrate."

The Panel on Flavorings, Additives and Processing Aids of the European Food Safety Authority has offered an opinion approving the use of PFOA in "repeated use articles, sintered at high temperature." It has commented "Within the framework of the general use of perfluorinated chemicals, consumer exposure from the use of perfluorooctanoinc acid, ammonium salt in repeated use articles, sintered at high temperatures is considered negligible."

Additional Note: The PFOA discussion pertains only to coatings based on PolyTetra Fluoro Ethylene (PTFE). PFOA is not a constituent of Akzo Nobel's non-stick coatings which are based on silicone, silicone polyesters and similar polymeric resins which are also often used on cookware, bake-ware and other non-stick household items.

Additional Information
For further information regarding the scientific and medical studies relating to PFOA, you may consult the following websites, whose content is not controlled by Akzo Nobel:

http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/pfoa/pfoainfo.htm
http://www.pfoa-facts.com/index.html

The Draft Risk Assessment may be found at:
http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/pfoa/pfoarisk.htm

A complete copy of the EPA's Docket, with relevant health information and the position statements of interested parties, including those opposed to the use of PFOA in products destined for consumer use, may be found by clicking on the following link:

Complete Copy of EPA's Docket

Revised: 3, February 2006
Akzo Nobel Non-Stick Coatings
http://www.an-nonstick.com