Teflon: Miracle invention or slow-acting poison? Why not both!

Teflon was accidentally discovered in 1938 by DuPont chemists while they were trying to develop new refrigerants to replace dangerous, explosive ones used in the 1920s-30s. Rudy Molinek wrote a piece for The Smithsonian titles "The Long, Strange History of Teflon, the Indestructible Product Nothing Seems to Stick to" that describes how Teflon went from being a mysterious laboratory curiosity to playing a crucial role in the Manhattan Project, before becoming a household name through non-stick cookware and eventually leading to the development of a whole class of chemicals known as PFAS, which are now raising significant health and environmental concerns. — Read the rest

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