People should be wary of coats, non-stick pans and other products containing perfluorinated compounds (PFC), health experts said yesterday.
A research team of scientists from National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital and NTU College of Public Health presented the results of a study into the effects PFCs on health at a news conference in Taipei, saying that the materials can easily accumulate in the body and are connected with a range of health and growth problems.
College dean Chen Wei-jen (陳為堅) said that a PFCs are water and oil resistant, they have been widely used in many daily products over the past 50 years, including non-stick pans, food packaging products, pesticides, clothing, interior decoration, carpets and personal care products.
Perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) is often used in fabrics and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is often used in pizza boxes and microwavable popcorn bags, he said.
The compounds are problematic because of their durability and likelihood to build up in the human body, creating the potential for harm in the event of long-term exposure, he said, adding that PFOS and PFOA in the body have half-lives of 5.4 years and 3.8 years respectively.
Because the compounds dissolve easily in body fats, they are extremely difficult to discharge once ingested, researchers said, adding that people should seek to reduce their exposure to the chemicals as much as possible.
NTU Hospital associate professor Su Ta-cheng (蘇大成) said the compounds could interfere with internal secretions, particularly those of reproductive organs, with long-term exposure more than tripling an adult’s risk of developing diabetes.
National Health Research Institutes researcher Wang Shu-li (王淑麗) said that studies involving pregnant women, newborns and young children found that the compounds can permeate the placenta, reducing thyroid function in a fetus.
She said one study of 600 pregnant woman found that long-term exposure to relatively high levels of the compounds correlated with lower body weights, heights and IQs in their babies.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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