Phthalates
| Phthalate Info: | |
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www.chemicalbodyburden.org/
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Coming Clean. Our Chemical Body Burden. The information on this site has been developed through the collaboration of health professionals, scientists, citizens groups and environmental organizations concerned about the chemical body burden we all carry and its health effects - known and unknown. |
www.phthalates.org
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Phthalate Esters Panel of the American Chemistry Council is composed of all major manufacturers and some users of the primary phthalate esters in commerce in the United States. |
| Phthalate News Articles: | |
www.newscientist.com |
"Gender-bending' chemicals found to 'feminise' boys" May 2005 by Andy Coghlan. New Scientist. "Gender-bending" chemicals mimicking the female hormone oestrogen can disrupt the development of baby boys, suggests the first evidence linking certain chemicals in everyday plastics to effects in humans. |
www.nottoopretty.org |
Phthalates: An Interview with Dr. Shanna Swan by Steve Curwood, Living On Earth (National Public Radio) May 27th, 2005. *** |
| Phthalate Reports: | |
www.nap.edu |
"Phthalates and Cumulative Risk Assessment The Task Ahead" National Academy of Science. Dec 2008. |
www.noharm.org |
"Aggregate Exposures to Phthalates in Humans" Health Care Without Harm, a campaign for environmentally responsible health care. Report: 2002. PDF. |
www.ehponline.org |
''Concentrations of Urinary Phthalate Metabolites Are Associated with Increased Waist Circumference and Insulin Resistance in Adult U.S. Males'' University of Rochester School of Medicine, 2007. |
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov |
"Administration of potentially antiandrogenic pesticides and toxic substances (dibutyl- and diethylhexyl phthalate, PCB 169, and ethane dimethane sulphonate) during sexual differentiation produces diverse Industrial Health. 15:94-118.Gray, LE, C Wolf, C Lambright, P Mann, M Price, RL Cooper and J Ostby. 1999. |
cerhr.niehs.nih.gov |
Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction Di-(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) Update. PDF. |
www.nottoopretty.org |
"Not Too Pretty" Independent laboratory tests found phthalates in more than 70 percent of health and beauty products tested – including popular brands of shampoo, deodorant, hair mousse, face lotion and every single fragrance tested. This is the alarming 2002 report that launched the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics." PDF. |
www.ehponline.org |
"Decrease in Anogenital Distance among Male Infants with Prenatal Phthalate Exposure" Dr. Shanna H. Swan. This data supports the hypothesis that prenatal phthalate exposure at environmental levels can adversely affect male reproductive development in humans. Environmental Health Perspectives, Aug 2005. |
www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov |
"Prenatal Phthalate Exposure and Anogenital Distance in Male Infants" Shanna H. Swan, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York. Environmental Health Perspectives, 2006 February. |
www.usatoday.com |
"Not toying around: Congress OKs bill to ban chemicals in some products" USA Today 8/1/2008. |
| Phthalates (THAL-ates) (plasticizers) are used to soften PVC to make it flexible for certain applications such as auto interiors, food packaging, children's toys and teethers, shower curtains, floor tile and raincoats... |
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| Phthalates are also found in cosmetics, perfumes, pesticides, lubricants, many personal care products (labeled simply as fragrance), air fresheners, adhesives, mattresses, straws, cling wrap, blood bags, catheters, nail polish, hair spray, the coating of time release pharmaceuticals and on and on.. |
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| Manufacturers produce about 800 million tons of Phthalates each year. 90% of that goes into softening PVC and only about one percent of PVC is recycled (2) |
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| Phthalates do not bind with the polymer they soften, therefore they are free to migrate out of it. It is found that 2 to 50 percent of phthalates leach from the plastic they were weakly bonded with.(1) |
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| Consequent to its ubiquitousness, Phthalates are now one of the most prevalent pollutants in our environment. | |
| Studies have shown that dramatic changes in male sexual characteristics have occured when "exposure took place in utero at levels of exposure that are hundreds or thousands of times lower than those necessary to cause damage in adults.''(3) |
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| In animal studies Phthalates have been known to impair reproduction and development, depress testosterone levels, alter liver and kidney function, damage the heart and lungs, affect blood clotting and insulin resistance and potentialy contribute to obesity. |
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| DEHP, a phthalate has been found in the Antarctic pack ice, at depths up to three meters, and in deep-sea jellyfish down more than 3000 feet in the Atlantic Ocean. (2) |
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| DEHP was banned in cosmetics in the EU in January 2002 and in toys and childcare articles in 2005. | |
| The EPA has classified DEHP a probable carcinogen. Yet it is still found in many children's products. In the US, the Consumer Product Safety Commission requested a 3% voluntary limit of DEHP in pacifiers and teethers. |
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| Good News! The recent Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act will ban three phthalates: DEHP, DBP, and BBP in new toys. Three others DINP, DIDP, and DnOP will be banned pending further studies. See NY Times editorial:www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/opinion/05tue2.html?_r=1&oref=slogin |
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| Notes: l (1) KEMI(2001) Natonal Chemicals Inspectorate. Risk Assessment:bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. CAS-N:117-81-7;EINECS-No.204-211-0.2001. Via www.noharm.org/library/docs/Phthalate_Report.pdf (2) www.noharm.org/library/docs/Phthalate_Report.pdf (3) Gray LE Jr, C Wolf, C Lambright, P Mann, M Price, RL Cooper, and J Ostby. 1999. Administration of potentially antiandrogenic pesticides (procymidone, linuron, iprodione, chlozolinate, p,p'-DDE, and ketoconazole) and toxic substances (dibutyl- and diethylhexyl phthalate, PCB 169, and ethane dimethane sulphonate) during sexual differentiation produces diverse profiles of reproductive malformations in the male rat. Toxicol Ind Health Jan-Mar;15(1-2):94-118. |
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