As most of us know, nonstick cookware is extremely popular and convenient to use. Who doesn’t love not having to spend hours scrubbing stuck on food from pots and pans? But what most of us do not realize is that teflon is plastic, and it has a problem.

Teflon is the trade name for a synthetic polymer called PolyTetraFluoroEthylene, or PTFE. PTFE is best known for being used in non-stick cookware, but it has many other uses too. Among other things, it is an incredibly low-reactive material with excellent chemical resistance and self-lubricating properties. It also has high temperature resistance and is very stable in low temperatures.

In order to make PTFE, carbon and fluorine are bonded together in an extremely strong bond. The resulting molecule is completely inert and very resistant to reactivity with other chemicals or materials, even at very high temperatures. This characteristic makes teflon very hard to scratch, very easy to clean and very non-stick.

During long periods of heat exposure, however, the PTFE molecules in a non-stick pan begin to break down and release gases. These fumes can cause a reaction in some people, known as “polymer fume fever”. This includes symptoms such as headache, chills, fatigue, coughing and chest tightness.

This is because PTFE belongs to a group of synthetic compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. These are sometimes referred to as the “forever chemicals”, because they never break down in the environment. According to an Australian study, just one crack in a nonstick pan can release millions of these tiny plastic particles into food and homes.