Polymer fume fever
Encyclopedia
Polymer fume fever or fluoropolymer fever, also informally called Teflon flu, is an inhalation fever caused by the fumes released when Polytetrafluoroethylene
(PTFE, known under the trade name Teflon) is heated to between 300 °C and 450 °C. When PTFE is heated above 450 °C the pyrolysis
products are different and inhalation may cause acute lung injury. Symptoms are flu-like (chills, headaches and fevers) with chest tightness and mild cough. Onset occurs about 4 to 8 hours after exposure to the pyrolysis
products of PTFE. Signs
: leukocytosis
; normal chest x-ray.
The polymer fumes are especially harmful to certain birds whose breathing, optimized for rapidity, allows toxins which are excluded by human lungs. Fumes from Teflon in very high heat are fatal to parrots, as well as some other birds. (PTFE Toxicosis, http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=15&cat=18&articleid=2874.)
Polytetrafluoroethylene
Polytetrafluoroethylene is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that finds numerous applications. PTFE is most well known by the DuPont brand name Teflon....
(PTFE, known under the trade name Teflon) is heated to between 300 °C and 450 °C. When PTFE is heated above 450 °C the pyrolysis
Pyrolysis
Pyrolysis is a thermochemical decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures without the participation of oxygen. It involves the simultaneous change of chemical composition and physical phase, and is irreversible...
products are different and inhalation may cause acute lung injury. Symptoms are flu-like (chills, headaches and fevers) with chest tightness and mild cough. Onset occurs about 4 to 8 hours after exposure to the pyrolysis
Pyrolysis
Pyrolysis is a thermochemical decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures without the participation of oxygen. It involves the simultaneous change of chemical composition and physical phase, and is irreversible...
products of PTFE. Signs
Medical sign
A medical sign is an objective indication of some medical fact or characteristic that may be detected by a physician during a physical examination of a patient....
: leukocytosis
Leukocytosis
Leukocytosis is a raised white blood cell count above the normal range in the blood. It is frequently a sign of an inflammatory response, most commonly the result of infection, and is observed in certain parasitic infections...
; normal chest x-ray.
The polymer fumes are especially harmful to certain birds whose breathing, optimized for rapidity, allows toxins which are excluded by human lungs. Fumes from Teflon in very high heat are fatal to parrots, as well as some other birds. (PTFE Toxicosis, http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=15&cat=18&articleid=2874.)
External links
- PMID 8272977 - Polymer fume fever and other fluorocarbon pyrolysis-related syndromes.
- "Can Teflon make you sick?", Medical News Today
- "Canaries in the Kitchen: Teflon Toxicosis", EWG 2003