What’s in your plastic? Phthalates and our health.

The Phthalate Information Center has on their website.” No governmental review has found any phthalate unsafe as used in products for the general public.” And this from their question and answer section, “Q. Are they safe? A. Regulatory agencies and independent authorities have found phthalates to be safe as used in vinyl products and personal care products. There is no reliable evidence that any phthalate has ever caused any harm to any human in their fifty-year history of use. Phthalates are one of the most thoroughly tested families of compounds in use today. An immense amount of information on their safety profiles is available to users…”

So why the controversy? Why do see headlines that say “Toxic levels of phlalate’s found in toys and other plastic goods”? Is there a threat to our health and our children’s health from these by-products of plastics?  This compound is found in flame retardant clothing, in furniture, in bedding, and toys, to mention just a few items.  Wikipedia lists phlalate’s as: … are a group of chemical compounds that are mainly used as plasticizers (substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility). They are chiefly used to turn polyvinyl chloride from a hard plastic into a flexible plastic.  Legal status: At least some phthalates are restricted in the European Union, and in the U.S. state of California (for children’s toys) starting in 2009. … The use of some phthalates is restricted in the European Union for use in children’s toys. DEHP, BBP, and DBP are restricted for all toys; DINP, DIDP, and DNOP are restricted only in toys that can be taken into the mouth. There are no other specific restrictions in the European Union, and the phthalates mentioned are allowed in any concentration in other products. Other phthalates are not restricted, not in toys or any other kind of product. The use of DEHP, BBP, and DBP in household products will usually be kept low as these are reproductive toxicants.” 

So why does the information at Wikipedia somewhat contradict the information posted by the Phlalate Information council? And why is this chemical banned in certain forms in Europe and other parts of the world, but not in the US?

There is a great article on how to avoid overexposure to this chemical at Healthychild.org; where they suggest the following to use plastics safely: “Choose smart plastics and avoid putting them in the microwave (where they can release dangerous chemicals when heated) or the dishwasher (where they can degrade in the heat and excessive moisture).”
They also give advice on how to make safer choices, healthy child also suggests “… select safe plastics that use polyethylene (#1, #2, and #4) and polypropylene (#5), which require the use of less toxic additives. They also are non-chlorinated….” Check the bottom of the receptacle to see what number is listed, if you choose carefully you will help to keep the amount of these compounds leach into your body and the environment at a minimum. Healthy Child specifically suggest that “… avoiding products that use polycarbonate (#3) and polystyrene (#6), which often are found in baby bottles or sippy cups, is a smart idea.”  To see what other plastics might be affecting your health, read the following article regarding plastic water bottles. My family and I no longer use plastic in our kitchen, we use glass containers to store food, parchment paper to cook on and cover food with, and we each have a stainless steel drinking bottle that we fill from the filter installed recently on our kitchen faucet.  In this day and age it is almost impossible to get by without plastic in our lives, and it can be incredibly useful, however, when possible try to choose options that enable you to avoid the use of plastic, especially for products that come directly into contact with your skin on a regular basis i.e. mattress toppers, childrens vinyl cover sheets, treated clothing, or items that you will be using in your mouth, be especially aware around young children who tend to chew on everything. Try buying your child wooden or cloth toys, especially items made from organic cotton.  Pay particular attention to clothing, children’s pajama’s that are denoted as flame resistant or flame retardant are coated with plastic.

Avoiding this chemical can be tricky the compound is in so many household and consumer items. 

According to  Our Stolen Future  “About a billion pounds per year are produced worldwide.” WOW, that just sounds like an awful lot of product, “one billion pounds worldwide”, and it’s almost certainly making a statement in your house. That article goes on “…Intentional uses of phthalates include softeners of plastics, oily substances in perfumes, additives to hairsprays, lubricants and wood finishers. That new car smell, which becomes especially pungent after the car has been sitting in the sun for a few hours, is partly the pungent odor of phthalates volatilizing from a hot plastic dashboard. In the evening’s cool they then condense out of the inside air of the car to form an oily coating on the inside of the windshield.” Yikes, I love that new car smell, or at least I did. Now the dilemma becomes – how can I possibly drive and hold my breath? I obviously can’t, so anyone inhaling that smell is also taking some amount down into the lungs and distributing it nicely through the body, great!  “… What are the health concerns? Much of the existing literature on phthalates’ toxicological properties focuses on the old approach to toxicology: high level exposure for cancer endpoints, and occupational exposure leading to adult infertility. In the past several years, however, particularly led by Earl Gray’s laboratory at the US Environmental Protection Agency, attention has turned to low-dose toxicity of phthalates during crucial windows of fetal development. As these studies have advanced, they have fundamentally changed our perception of potential health risks of phthalates. …” Yes, we are making our children toxic before they are even born.

Avoiding the toxins can be done, an article at PBS talks about the toy problem and where to find alternatives for your children.  Healthy Child Healthy World has this advice: “The phthalates found in toys are used as a plastic softener in polyvinyl chloride (also known as PVC or vinyl). Some PVC toys may be labeled with a V or #3 inside the chasing arrows triangle usually located on the bottom of a product. Most won’t be labeled at all. Generally, if a toy is a squishy plastic—like rubber duckies and baby dolls—or if it has highly flexible plastic as a component—like the clear pages in child “photo albums,” the clear plastic purses that some girl’s toys are sold in, or the plastic-like “fabric” used on some dolls—you should avoid it or call the manufacturer to ask if the product is made with PVC or phthalates.”  You can go to the HealthyChild.org website to purchase items without the toxin, or use their website to search for other vendors selling similar items.  Burts Bees is a very well known vendor who shuns the use of this chemical in personal care items, to read their statements on these and other chemical additions to products go to the Burts Bees Website.

And finally the good news, maybe “we” are starting to get it, the following article appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle. “Starting in January, California will become the first state to ban toys and other child-care products that contain more than trace amounts of phthalates. Phthalates have been linked to cancer, interference with the natural functioning of the hormone system and reproductive abnormalities…  also cited a 2006 Chronicle investigation in which 16 common children’s toys were sent to a Chicago lab for testing. Several were found to contain levels of phthalates at several times the upcoming limit. … major retailers that have taken phthalate-softened children’s products off their shelves include Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target and Toys “R” Us. The chemicals are outlawed in the European Union, Argentina, Japan, Fiji, Korea and Mexico.”

Become an informed consumer, start with these articles and keep Google-ing, I guarantee you will be horrified enough to at least if nothing else spend money on organic cotton pajama’s and sheet sets, personal care items, or on good old fashioned cloth or wooden toys, possibly even changing out your child’s drinking cups.  There are plenty of retailers available now who are selling items without the noxious substance we have been hearing about lately. Check with Dr. Paul and Dr. Susan, search the internet and speak with your local retailers before you make your next toxin free purchase.

Make an adjustment, stay healthy ~ be happy: Call Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan at  (303) 674 1500 to schedule a consultation or email office@fontanachiro.com

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