What Are Phthalates?
Phthalates are a class of chemicals used as plasticizers. Plasticizers give plastic its finished qualities of flexibility, transparency, durability and longevity. PVC plastic is a classic example of a soft, flexible plastic that uses phthalates.
The good news is that these chemicals are being phased out of many products, due to the increasing health concerns expressed by consumers and health advocates. The bad news is that these compounds are persistent in the environment.
The Uses Of Phthalates
Phthalates turn up all over the place. They can be in the coating of that drug or supplement that you take. They might be in the glue you use for your child’s model planes. From personal care to gelling agents, to stabilizers and lubricants, phthalates can be used to bind, emulsify and suspend. Soft plastics of all kinds contain it, and so can paint. Your shower curtain likely has phthalates, as does your vinyl upholstery, many food containers and most types of plastic wrapping. Your cosmetics can contain it, right from perfume to eye shadow, moisturizer, nail polish, liquid soap and hair spray.
With this kind of market, phthalates contribute to as much as 60 per cent of the plastics we use, by weight.
What’s The Problem With Phthalates?
The biggest single problem with phthalates of all kinds is that they leach. This means that phthalates are easily separated from plastic. As a result, products made with phthalates will release it slowly but surely into the environment.
As a result, our children can be getting phthalates into their bodies in a host of ways:
- By mouthing toys and other items
- By playing with plastic items and absorbing phthalates through the skin
- By accidental ingestion from such things as common house dust.
Most of us would never consider just playing with a toy to be an issue. However, we have to remember that our skin is a “covering” and not a “barrier”. In fact, we all need to think about our skin as upholstery cloth, rather than a suit of armor. Just like upholstery fabric, our skins will absorb anything that “spills” on it or which is rubbed of on it. Skin is designed more to keep our innards in and keep bacteria out, but the molecules of the regular environment? Skin takes those in.
Phthalates And Allergies
A 2008 study shows that phthalates worsen skin allergies in newborn mice exposed through their mothers. In this research, the infant wasn’t even directly exposed; the toxin travelled into the mother and then crossed the “placental barrier”. Again – the placenta is less barrier and more permeable membrane. All it is designed to do is separate the mother and infant blood streams: it is not designed to bar all molecules. If it did, there would be no way for the mother to nourish the child in the womb.
Current human studies also show that children exposed to higher levels of phthalates have higher rates of allergies. So, phthalates aren’t just a wonder chemical that make plastic more useful; it appears to disrupt our immune system.
Of course, phthalates aren’t the only plasticizers. BPA has been in the news lately as many jurisdictions in North America moves to ban it, particularly from sensitive products like baby bottles. Is BPA contributing to allergies too?
Sources: Wikipedia, Environmental Health News; FDA
