And chicken tikka masala is up there, available to anyone to look at... YUM

Cheers, helen s

From what I've understand and heard, dioxin is produced from plastic wraps
during microwave cooking. Dioxins, especially polyvinyl chloride, can cause
a numerous amount of health risks, including cancer. This is a proposed
scientific study and there is currenly no data to back up the claim however.

According to DuPont,

       "In the 40-plus year history of cookware coated with Teflon?
non-stick, there have been no reported cases of consumers contracting
adverse health effects as a result of in-home normal cooking use. Cooks in
more than 40 countries around the world have purchased billions of pots and
pans with DuPont non-stick coatings for home and commercial use.

                 There is no scientific basis to support claims that
cookware coated with Teflon? non-stick causes cancer. There is extensive
scientific data, including worker surveillance data, peer-reviewed
toxicology studies, and expert panel reports that support this position. "

                 The EPA said  that people throughout the United States
could face "a potential risk of developmental and other adverse effects"
from exposure to low levels of a chemical used in making the nonstick
substance Teflon.

                 The EPA issued a draft assessment of the potential risks
of perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts, known as PFOA, or C-8. The report,
based on animal studies, says some evidence exists that PFOA is carcinogenic
in rats, but the cancer hazard for people is less certain.

                 It suggests the chemical targets the liver and is present
in the breast milk of rats. It also says the chemical could raise
cholesterol and triglyceride levels in people - a finding that chemical
maker DuPont publicly released . Du Pont said its study found no overall
health problems.

                 Du Pont also said its study found no association between
elevated PFOA blood levels and liver function, blood counts, prostate
cancer, leukemia or multiple myeloma.

                 The company is battling charges by EPA that it did not
fulfill its legal obligations to share lab results about the potential harm
from the unregulated chemical, known as PFOA or C-8, on several occasions.
An administrative court hearing on those charges was held last month.

                 The company maintains that it did fulfill its obligations
and that PFOA is harmless.

                 Du Pont agreed, however, to pay as much as $343 million to
settle charges it contaminated drinking water in West Virginia and Ohio with
PFOA over the past 50 years. As many as 60,000 residents around the plant
sued over their exposure to the chemical. The settlement will not become
final until after a public hearing in February.

                 While PFOA is used to make Teflon, it is not present in
Teflon itself, which is applied to cookware, clothing, car parts and
flooring. PFOA also is used to produce materials used in firefighting foam,
phone cables and computer chips.

                 EPA officials emphasized that its assessment was
preliminary, saying that while the agency "has concerns with respect to the
potential nationwide presence of PFOA in blood and with the potential for
developmental and other effects suggested by animal studies, there are
significant uncertainties in the agency's quantitative assessment of the
risks of PFOA."

                 The Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization
that brought Du Pont's record on PFOA to EPA's attention, said that based on
other studies of PFOA, it believes the potential cancer and heart disease
risks from the chemical are being played down too much.

                 Du Pont's study was released to the EPA and to its
workers, who were exposed to PFOA at its plant in Parkersburg, West
Virginia. The company's study was reviewed by experts from five
universities, and Du Pont plans more follow-up research.

                 In its study, the company reported there were "no human
health effects known to be caused" by PFOA. The company said its study was
based on 62 blood and urine tests among 1,000 employees at Du Pont's
Washington Works plant on the Ohio River.

                 Du Pont said it found elevated levels of total cholesterol
and fats called triglycerides among workers exposed to PFOA, but noted that
the study data "did not indicate that PFOA was or was not the cause of the
increases in serum cholesterol and triglycerides."

                 Sol Max, Du Pont's chief medical officer, said "no
association would be seen in the general public" for cholesterol and
triglycerides, because exposure to the chemical was minimal outside a work
setting.

Just in case you are interested, I will post one link.  I do not mean
to create another debateable furor over food safety.

http://www.oldworldaviaries.com/text/styles/teflon.html

Castiron - It depends, do you like black or rusty tomato sauce? (G)