PTFE

Chemicals are forever: a new factory opens near Lake Nipissing, where water is already contaminated

Chemicals are forever: a new factory opens near Lake Nipissing, where water is already contaminated

Local news coverage of the opening has been sparse, mostly touting that the plant will bring economic benefits, including up to 35 new jobs to a town with an unemployment rate more than double the national average. Less has been said publicly about the company’s plans to manufacture — or perhaps just use, depending which Industrial Plastics employee is speaking — polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a Teflon-like product that falls into a larger group of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).