Hi, I'm Kelly Greaser. I have an extensive background in chemistry and currently work as an environmental scientist, so I deal with chemicals and their dangers everyday.
I read an e-mail from Joyce Baum
Simply keeping birds out of the kitchen doesn't work with Teflon.
Teflon is (PTFE), PolyTetraFluoroEthylene a large, complex organic
polymer. When it breaks down, it forms several different types of
simpler, smaller, organic chemicals. These chemicals are gases and so
travel in the air. The problem with organic chemicals is that they do
not breakdown. That means that once the chemical is formed in your
house, it is dangerous until it leaves your house. Also, these
chemicals are very toxic to birds.
Birds do not have livers as sophisticated as ours. Birds' livers
cannot breakdown these chemicals in their bodies like ours can. Upon
exposure to the chemicals, the liver operates for about five minutes,
then shuts down. After the liver gives up, the chemical is no longer
drawn away from the air sacs. Again, birds do not have lungs like we
do. The air sacs cannot process these chemicals either, and so the
bird literally suffocates in another 2-3 minutes. Even a small
concentration of these chemicals are sufficient to cause this shutdown.
Because of this, it does not take much to create enough of the toxic
chemicals, and unless you have an unbelievable air exhaust system in
your house, the chemicals will reach your bird and kill it. I think it
is important that people realize the nature of the chemicals, and
especially the fact that they do not breakdown.
The ONLY thing that I am aware of that will breakdown these chemicals
before they get to your bird is an ozonator.
This is Kelly again, Kathy's daughter. I had my yearly Hazardous
Waste training this week and came across something I thought people
should know.
"Polytetrafluoroethylene decomposition products. Thermal decomposition of the fluorocarbon chain in air leads to the dormation of oxidized products containing carbon, fluorine, and oxygen. Because these products decompose in part by hydrolysis in alkaline solution, they can be quantitatively determined in air as fluoride to provide an index of exposure. No TLVs are recommended at this time, but air concentration should be controlled as low as possible." Translation: The first sentence states that Teflon breaks down with heating. The second sentence states how the air concentration may be measured, they just haven't quantified it yet. The third sentence states that since they don't know the potentially harmful concentration of Teflon breakdown products, KEEP THE CONCENTRATION IN AIR AS LOW AS POSSIBLE. This is a recommendation for HUMANS, not just birds. I sleep better at night knowing that my family and my birds are completely protected because we don't use Teflon at all.