From raves about its potential to revelations about its possible toxicity, Teflon has made a difficult journey through science, manufacturing and marketing.
Non-stick frying pans have been a revolutionary development. They are a twentieth century invention for busy working people who want to cook home cooked meals. They are lightweight and easy to clean. No more scrubbing residue off metal pans. Omelets and pancakes that slide on the plate. It's as if mankind has entered the space age of cookware.
What later became known as "Teflon" was discovered by DuPont chemist Roy J. Plunkett in 1938 quite by accident. Plunkett's account of his discovery was quoted by K. N. R. Rao in an article for Current Science as an example of serendipity (a term derived from the English language that refers to the ability, by drawing profound conclusions from chance observations, to find something one was not intentionally looking for).
As he recalled, "On this day, shortly after the beginning of the experiment, my assistant called my attention to the fact that the flow of tetrafluoroethylene had stopped. I checked the weight of the cylinder and found that it still contained a considerable amount of the substance which I had mistaken for tetrafluoroethylene. I opened the valve fully and ran a wire through the valve opening, but no gas came out. When I shook the cylinder and found that there was some solid material inside, I removed the valve and was able to pour the white powder out of the cylinder. Finally, using a hacksaw, the cylinder was able to be opened and a much larger amount of white powder was obtained. It was immediately clear to me that the tetrafluoroethylene had polymerized and the white powder was a polymer of tetrafluoroethylene."
In trying to capitalize on this new polymer, polytetrafluoroethylene, DuPont first focused on industrial applications. One of these was reported in the October 1949 Science News Letter in the "New Machines and Gadgets" section, announcing that "insulating gaskets intended for use in high-frequency electrical systems requiring the highest performance are made of polytetrafluoroethylene and are available in various desired shapes. Their loss factor, dielectric constant and dielectric strength do not change with temperature changes below 400 degrees Fahrenheit."
Photo: daily.jstor.org
It wasn't what Plunkett was looking for, but DuPont quickly found a way to capitalize on it. By the 1950s, DuPont was advertising its product in the pages of Scientific American magazine, telling scientists about its many uses. In an advertisement styled as a "technical report," the company reported that "this plastic engineering material is characterized by chemical inertness, excellent dielectric properties, and a wide temperature range over which the properties of Teflon do not change."
A French scientist saw the possibility of using Teflon in cookware and licensed its use to create the Tefal brand. Soon DuPont launched its own line of cookware for the American market using this polymer, called "Happy Pan".
Today, Teflon is everywhere, and the brand name itself has become a generic term for those that are resistant to any kind of damage (including politicians that dirt doesn't stick to).
Turns out it's useful in unexpected areas, too: environmentalists use Teflon tape to ring
wild birds. But Teflon and the chemicals from its production are also present in many places where humans don't want them.
The production of Teflon has led to people living near the factory being exposed to toxins. It has also been found to become toxic at temperatures above 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Teflon has gone from being a groundbreaking innovation to a source of perpetual chemicals, and maybe it's not so "non-stick" after all.