Phthalates are chemicals used in the plastics and cosmetics industries. According to studies in several countries, they are getting into women's bodies and some small percentage of the baby boys produced by those women have genitals that are more feminine--malformed testicles and small penises.
Doesn't the government protect us from dangerous chemicals?
Our lives are filled with and surrounded by plastics which the government and the plastic industries assure us are safe, and that they are looking out for our best interests. However, the problem is that the basic approach to every study done by the government agencies or the plastics industry has focused on one chemical at a time making it impossible to draw valid conclusions when our lives are awash with plastics.
In a report, Aggregate Exposures to Phthalates in Humans, published by the group Health Care Without Harm, scientists studied the combined effects of multiple sources of phthalates that are used to soften plastics that would otherwise be hard and brittle. The report concludes that the regulatory agencies have failed to protect the consumer by failing to evaluate the combined effects of dangerous chemicals from multiple sources. The report calls for regulations to be revamped.
Take for example the use of phthalates in soft children's toys. If scientists look at this one source of exposure, and calculate the amount of phthalates that enter the child's bloodstream from chewing on, handling, or inhaling the smell of plastic toys, they will conclude that the amount is too small to make the child sick. Yet when we add the amount from the toy to the amount in the baby bottle, the crib rails, the plastic bathtub, the plastic childseat, the plastic in the rug the child crawls on, and the plastic tray of the high-chair, it's easy to see that the child's exposure to these chemicals is far greater than just the amount coming from the toy.
The problem for scientists would be similar to proving that a person who died from second-hand smoke inhaled more smoke from the smokey office where they worked, rather than from the smoke-filled tavern where they went to relax after work.
Another problem is that the subtle damage done to our bodies by environmental chemicals may not appear for decades. Very few scientific studies extend more than a few years.
What are Phthalates?
Phthalates (pronounced THA-late) are produced by the millions of tons each year. They are used in flexible plastics, cosmetics, fragrances, pesticides, building materials, lubricants and adhesives. They get into the environment during the manufacturing process and leach into the ground in landfills when we throw plastics away.
There are a dozen common types of phthalates and each has different health effects on humans. The most serious effect seems to be the damage to male reproductive organs in fetuses and young children. In other words, women with too much phthalates in their system may produce male children with altered penises and testes. Other health effects include liver, kidney, and lung damage.
Scientists for the phthalate industry can argue about the safety of any one exposure but nevertheless there are young women with too much phthalate in their system giving birth to boys with defective reproductive systems. Taking all the plastics out of our daily lives isn't going to happen any time soon. How can we minimize the risk to unborn babies, nursing infants and young boys?
What can parents do?
Women who are pregnant or nursing should (1) severely limit their exposure to plastics as much as possible--a very difficult thing to do, and (2) be very careful to choose natural cosmetics and personal care products that don't contain phthalates. Note that you'll never see "phthalates" listed in the ingredients. Before buying personal care or beauty products women should visit the website SkinDeep to determine if the manufacturer has signed the "Compact for Safe Cosmetics." Those manufacturers have pledged to eliminate, not only phthalates, but all harmful or questionable ingredients from their products.
Mothers, especially those of young boys, should limit their exposure to plastics, both before and after birth. This is really difficult in today's world, but we can recognize the problem and do our best. Just one example, don't feed children in soft plastic containers, dishes or glasses--especially not hot foods or drinks.
Summary
Plastics have created a world for us that is convenient and relatively inexpensive. They also make us sick when we don't use them wisely. The problem is very technical and complicated. The final solution will come from government regulations that consider the overall and long-term exposure to hazardous chemicals rather than the safety of one exposure at a time. In the mean time, people, and especially young women, must be very cautious about over-using plastics and beauty products.
References
Doesn't the government protect us from dangerous chemicals?
Our lives are filled with and surrounded by plastics which the government and the plastic industries assure us are safe, and that they are looking out for our best interests. However, the problem is that the basic approach to every study done by the government agencies or the plastics industry has focused on one chemical at a time making it impossible to draw valid conclusions when our lives are awash with plastics.
In a report, Aggregate Exposures to Phthalates in Humans, published by the group Health Care Without Harm, scientists studied the combined effects of multiple sources of phthalates that are used to soften plastics that would otherwise be hard and brittle. The report concludes that the regulatory agencies have failed to protect the consumer by failing to evaluate the combined effects of dangerous chemicals from multiple sources. The report calls for regulations to be revamped.
Take for example the use of phthalates in soft children's toys. If scientists look at this one source of exposure, and calculate the amount of phthalates that enter the child's bloodstream from chewing on, handling, or inhaling the smell of plastic toys, they will conclude that the amount is too small to make the child sick. Yet when we add the amount from the toy to the amount in the baby bottle, the crib rails, the plastic bathtub, the plastic childseat, the plastic in the rug the child crawls on, and the plastic tray of the high-chair, it's easy to see that the child's exposure to these chemicals is far greater than just the amount coming from the toy.
The problem for scientists would be similar to proving that a person who died from second-hand smoke inhaled more smoke from the smokey office where they worked, rather than from the smoke-filled tavern where they went to relax after work.
Another problem is that the subtle damage done to our bodies by environmental chemicals may not appear for decades. Very few scientific studies extend more than a few years.
What are Phthalates?
Phthalates (pronounced THA-late) are produced by the millions of tons each year. They are used in flexible plastics, cosmetics, fragrances, pesticides, building materials, lubricants and adhesives. They get into the environment during the manufacturing process and leach into the ground in landfills when we throw plastics away.
There are a dozen common types of phthalates and each has different health effects on humans. The most serious effect seems to be the damage to male reproductive organs in fetuses and young children. In other words, women with too much phthalates in their system may produce male children with altered penises and testes. Other health effects include liver, kidney, and lung damage.
Scientists for the phthalate industry can argue about the safety of any one exposure but nevertheless there are young women with too much phthalate in their system giving birth to boys with defective reproductive systems. Taking all the plastics out of our daily lives isn't going to happen any time soon. How can we minimize the risk to unborn babies, nursing infants and young boys?
What can parents do?
Women who are pregnant or nursing should (1) severely limit their exposure to plastics as much as possible--a very difficult thing to do, and (2) be very careful to choose natural cosmetics and personal care products that don't contain phthalates. Note that you'll never see "phthalates" listed in the ingredients. Before buying personal care or beauty products women should visit the website SkinDeep to determine if the manufacturer has signed the "Compact for Safe Cosmetics." Those manufacturers have pledged to eliminate, not only phthalates, but all harmful or questionable ingredients from their products.
Mothers, especially those of young boys, should limit their exposure to plastics, both before and after birth. This is really difficult in today's world, but we can recognize the problem and do our best. Just one example, don't feed children in soft plastic containers, dishes or glasses--especially not hot foods or drinks.
Summary
Plastics have created a world for us that is convenient and relatively inexpensive. They also make us sick when we don't use them wisely. The problem is very technical and complicated. The final solution will come from government regulations that consider the overall and long-term exposure to hazardous chemicals rather than the safety of one exposure at a time. In the mean time, people, and especially young women, must be very cautious about over-using plastics and beauty products.
References
- DiGangi J, Schettler T, Cobbing M, Rossi M, "Aggregate Exposures to Phthalates in Humans," Health Care Without Harm, Washington D.C., downloaded from http://www.noharm.org/details.cfm?type=document&id=662 19 October 2007.
- Marsee, K, TJ Woodruff, DA Axelrad, AM Calafat, and SH Swan. 2006. "Estimated Daily Phthalate Exposures in a Population of Mothers of Male Infants Exhibiting Reduced Anogenital Distance," Environ Health Perspect. 2006 Jun;114(6):805-9
- Silva MJ, Barr DB, Reidy JA et al, "Urinary levels of seven phthalate metabolites in the US populatins from the National Health and Nutritin Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2000," Environmental Health Perspectives, 2004 Mar; 112(3):331-8.
- Main KM, Mortensen GK, Kavea MM, et al, "Human breast milk contamination with phthalates and alterations of endogenous reproductive hormones in infants three months of age," Environmental Health Perspectives, 2006 Feb;114(2):270-6.
- Swan SH, Main KM, Liu F, et al, "Decrease in Anogenital Distance Among Male Infants with Prenatal Phthalate Exposure," Environmental Health Perspectives 113:1056-1061.
