verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Steenland and other scientists also argue that people don't cook at high enough temperatures for these chemical reactions to take place. "Now, if you burn your pans for an hour at high heat, it [Teflon] will break down," "But that will be the least of your problems because your house will be on fire." However, research suggests pans can easily reach a temperature hot enough to disintegrate Teflon. One group of researchers in Canada published a 2001 study in the journal Nature, in which Teflon broke down at 680 degrees Fahrenheit (360 degrees Celsius). For context: a Teflon-coated pan can reach 750 F (399 C) if left for eight minutes at high heat on a stovetop, according to a 2017 article published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research. And at lower temperatures, Teflon coating still breaks down over time, according to a 1998 article published in the journal Polymer Degradation and Stability. If you consistently heat your pan to 500 F (260 C; the temperature at which we sear steak), the pan should last around 2.3 years, according to the 2001 Nature study. In 2015, PFOA was voluntarily phased out in the U.S., but the chemical is still widely used in China, according to Steenland and Fenton. However, it's possible that the clear plastic coating known as PTFE can still create PFOA when it breaks down, research finds.