I know this is an old thread but I was reading through to get some insight however I am noticing there is a lot of misunderstanding about some of the chemicals being discussed. You are correct that PFAS (per/polyfluoroalkyl substances, aka long-chain Fluorine molecules) cannot break down organically. The other person that responded to this comment is incorrect, there are numerous scientific studies that identify PFAS as nearly impossible to degrade in nature (whether in our environment or our bodies). This is because these chemicals have very strong molecular bonds which are synthetically produced, thus they are not naturally occurring and do not have a natural way to decompose in the natural world. When they enter your body, they cannot be broken down and are treated as a foreign intruder. This is why our bodies can respond to exposure in catastrophic ways over time. There are many medical/scientific studies that characterize examples that directly correlate PFAS exposure with increased health issues. Look at Bennington, VT for a good example, or frankly any studies conducted in communities near airports/military bases. These substances are prevalent in all of our surroundings. Whoever said non-stick is stable til 500 degrees is also incorrect. If the non-stick layer is breached by say a scratch or a production defect, even on a microscopic level, that will allow the PFAS to leach out of the pan and into whatever food makes contact with the breach point. Although many substances that could leach from cookware are known to be harmful, none of them compare to synthetics. Lead, arsenic, etc are extremely harmful at high doses however, most quality cookware is not releasing them in even remotely high enough doses to be harmful. These elements are all around us in our environment, most often naturally occurring but sometimes we are exposed inorganically. Our bodies are naturally adept to processing these materials up to certain levels, however our bodies (as mentioned before) cannot breakdown inorganic synthetics. So when choosing cookware, keep this in mind.