We use it daily all over the world in non-stick pans, Gore-Tex, computer chips, engine fuel lines: Teflon, the miracle of the plastic age. But some people worry about one of the chemicals used in its manufacture, perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA. Exposure to PFOA in rats has been shown to cause brain cancer, which could be very worrying for concerned parents. A spokesman from the Environmental Working Group (link to their study) has said it rates with DDT, PCBs and other toxins, and has been determined as a likely human carcinogen and should be banned. The EPA is in the final stages of investigating how this chemical enters the human bloodstream and DuPont could face stiff fines for covering up evidence of birth defects and potentially damaging studies.