In the absence of a binding ban, New Jersey officials have taken the first, formal step toward the toughest regulation of PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) the carcinogen used to make Teflon, in drinking water.

At the behest of Pennsgrove Water Supply Co., the state's Department of Environmental Protection recommended a 0.04 parts per billion standard for PFOA, based in part on a study of drinking water in West Virginia. Scientists also based their advisory on an assumption drinking water may account for as much as 20 percent of a patient's exposure to PFOA.

Fortunately, New Jersey isn't alone. No thanks to the presence of PFOA and other perfluorochemicals in public and private sources of drinking water, Minnesota health officials have cut the state's previous safe limit for PFOA in drinking water from 1 to 0.5 ppb. And, a consent agreement between the EPA and DuPont and dramatically reduced PFOA limits from an astounding 150 ppb to 0.5 ppb in West Virginia.

Just a reminder, PFOA harms your health in so many ways, including those not connected at all to drinking water from the tap. Your best option is to discard all of your cookware lined with Teflon, and avoid it as often as you can elsewhere.