hello tweets.

yes, it's true that teflon (PTFE) fumes can be very dangerous for
pet birds. it is also possible for humans to suffer from
tetrafluoroethylene poisoning (as it is called), but the larger
size of humans and our larger lung capacity makes this a much
more uncommon event than for birds.

it was originally thought that the teflon-coated pan had to be
heated to high temperatures for these poisonous fumes to be released,
but it has been shown that this isn't true. a teflon-coated pan
will release fumes from the moment it is heated and in fact, a
pan that is heated to a low heat of only 285 degrees can release
enough fumes within a few seconds to kill small birds 24 hours
later. and this sort of death is not only slow, but it is agonizing
for the bird.

if you think that teflon coatings are only found in cookware, look
at that label again! teflon coatings are also found in many other
items, such as drip pans for burners and the burners on your stove,
broiler pans, griddles, heat lamps and portable heaters, coffee
makers, hot air popcorn poppers, electric skillets, woks, waffle
irons, just to name a few items.

here are a few URLs for webbed documents that mention or discuss
the effects of teflon (PTFE) fumes on birds;

short informational article;

http://www.cockatiels.org/fumes.html

veterinary information;

http://www.mcallister.com/avian.html

surprisingly, it can also affect songbirds;

http://www.fas.org/ahead/news/ccwhc/summer97.htm#ont

another excellent informational article;

http://www.keyinfo.com/bird/pages/articles/teflon.html

Deborah Wisti-Peterson email:nyneve at u.washington.edu
Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash, USA
Visit me on the web: http://weber.u.washington.edu/~nyneve/
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