4 ms·

Teflon - poly(tetrafluoroethylene), is used in medical implants in the human body. I wouldn't about it. PFAS? That's different.

• ceejayoz 2y ago
  Plutonium is also used in medical implants; it remains toxic. https://osrp.lanl.gov/pacemakers.shtml https://osrp.lanl.gov/pacemakers.shtml https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene > PTFE is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS commonly described as persistent organic pollutants or "forever chemicals".
  • refurb 2y ago
    The plutonium in a pacemaker isn’t constantly bathed in your body fluids. PTFE is 100% inert unless heated. It’s the reason why it’s used in joints and stents.
    • ceejayoz 2y ago
      In other words, a material's safety may depend on the context in which it is used. I have concerns that a copper-coated nanotextured steel might, in some scenarios, have human health impacts; I'd rather not learn about it after decades of widespread use like PFAS.
      • refurb 2y ago
        Don’t hold back progress based on unfounded fears.
        • ceejayoz 2y ago
          That industry won't properly test for safety and hide evidence as long as possible is not unfounded. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10237242/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10237242/ > Our review of industry documents shows that companies knew PFAS was “highly toxic when inhaled and moderately toxic when ingested” by 1970, forty years before the public health community. Further, the industry used several strategies that have been shown common to tobacco, pharmaceutical and other industries to influence science and regulation – most notably, suppressing unfavorable research and distorting public discourse.