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Toxic Responses of the Lung
Published in Stephen K. Hall, Joana Chakraborty, Randall J. Ruch, Chemical Exposure and Toxic Responses, 2020
Polymer fume fever begins several hours after exposure to the heat-degraded polymer, polytetrafluoroethylene, also known as teflon. Polytetrafluoroethylene breaks down at a temperature of 250°C to 300°C. At that point it liberates a collection of aliphatic and cyclic fluorocarbon compounds. Many are powerful irritants. The disorder is characterized by brief but acute attacks of chest tightness, choking, a dry cough, and occasional rigors.
Organic Chemicals
Published in William J. Rea, Kalpana D. Patel, Reversibility of Chronic Disease and Hypersensitivity, Volume 4, 2017
William J. Rea, Kalpana D. Patel
In cases of “Teflon toxicosis,” as the bird poisonings are called, the lungs of exposed birds hemorrhage and fill with fluid, leading to suffocation. DuPont acknowledges that the fumes can also sicken people, a condition called “polymer fume fever.” DuPont has never studied the incidence of the fever among users of the billions of nonstick pots and pans sold around the world. Neither has the company studied the long-term effects from the sickness, or the extent to which Teflon exposures lead to human illnesses often believed erroneously to be the common flu.400
Characterization of PFAS air emissions from thermal application of fluoropolymer dispersions on fabrics
Published in Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 2023
Lindsay C. Wickersham, James M. Mattila, Jonathan D. Krug, Stephen R. Jackson, M. Ariel Geer Wallace, Erin P. Shields, Hannah Halliday, Emily Y. Li, Hannah K. Liberatore, Stanley (Mac) Farrior, William Preston, Jeffrey V. Ryan, Chun-Wai Lee, William P. Linak
Multiple studies have investigated the pyrolysis and destruction of PTFE at high temperatures (Ellis et al. 2001, 2003; Huber et al. 2009; Lewis and Naylor 1947) and several have examined the degradation of PTFE at temperatures commonly used to sinter PTFE to fabrics (Baker and Kasprzak 1993; Conesa and Font 2001; Ellis et al. 2001, 2003; Waritz and Kwon 1968). PTFE is stable up to 250°C, but above this temperature the polymer begins to slowly decompose by depolymerization (Huber et al. 2009). At 350°C, exposure to emissions causes polymer fume fever in humans, a temporary flu-like illness (Greenberg and Vearrier 2015; Waritz and Kwon 1968). At 375°C, emissions begin to show toxicity in animals, likely due to the perfluoroisobutylene (PFIB) and carbonyl difluoride emissions that have been reported (Treon et al. 1955). Between 400°C and 500°C, tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), fluoro-formaldehyde, hexafluoropropylene (HFP), and octafluorocyclobutane were also identified in the vapor phase (Ellis et al. 2003; Huber et al. 2009). However, these studies only examined the fluorinated polymer, not the complex chemical mixture contained in dispersions.
Nano- and microplastics in the workplace
Published in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2021
Vladimir Murashov, Charles L. Geraci, Paul A. Schulte, John Howard
Potential health hazards of environmental NMP to the general population are a subject of research and debate. At the same time, adverse health effects of occupational exposures to NMP have been known for decades (Prata 2018). For example, inhalation of thermal degradation products of polytetrafluoroethylene can lead to “polymer fume fever” (Williams et al. 1974) and in extreme cases to fatal acute pulmonary edema (Lee et al. 1997). These adverse health effects were associated with the presence of nanoscale particles comprised of decomposition products, including polymers, in the fumes, which can reach deep into the lung and access the pulmonary interstitium (Ferin and Oberdörster 1992). Inhalation of flocking fiber particles can lead to interstitial lung disease (Lougheed et al. 1995). Exposure to PVC dust produced during the manufacture of this plastic was reported to result in the loss of lung function (Soutar et al. 1980). A review of adverse health effects among workers resulting from occupational exposures to microplastics identified three industries with potential chronic high-level exposures to airborne microplastics: the synthetic textile industry, the flock industry, and vinyl chloride and PVC industry (Prata 2018).