In The News - Lawmakers Agree to Ban Toxins in Children's Items

I subscribe to the Baby 411 blog since I an such a HUGE fan of the book and today's post (the are few and far between so it caught my attention) sited an article in the Washington post called: Lawmakers Agree to Ban Toxins in Children's Items.

The "toxin" in question is of a family of chemicals called Phthalates. So, what are they? According to Phtalates.org, "Phthalates are a family of compounds made from alcohols and phthalic anhydride. They are oily, colorless, odorless liquids that do not evaporate readily." The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a great article on Phthalates as well, which includes the methods by which exposure occurs including the potential exposure. According to the EPA, children have a higher exposure dependent upon their diet since the chemicals can be found in infant formulas and baby food, and can leach into foods heated in plastic containers. Also through the mouthing of toys and medical tubing with infants in the NICU having a greater chance for exposure. The next likely way for exposure is via the skin. This is of a medium risk. The chemicals are found in cosmetics, fragrances and lotions as well as some insect repellents.

According to the Washington Post article sited above the Congress has come up with legislation on banning the chemical(s) but it is unclear as to whether or not President Bush will Veto it stating that, "White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that President Bush opposes the ban but that it is too early to say whether he will veto the measure, which is part of popular legislation to reform the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Among other things, the legislation would ban lead in children's products and would give consumers access to a new database of complaints or accident reports for goods. The measure also allows stiffer fines for violations and enhanced enforcement of consumer safety laws.

"Under language finalized yesterday, House and Senate lawmakers agreed to permanently ban three types of phthalates from children's toys and to outlaw three other phthalates from products pending an extensive study of their health effects in children and pregnant women."

So, the question remains, are Phthalates safe? According to Phthalates.org, yes. They state "Safety reviews by European and American scientific panels have specifically cleared phthalates for use in toys and in nail polish. The different reviews use phrases such as “safe as used,” or “no concern,” or “no demonstrated health risk.” No governmental review has found any phthalate unsafe as used in products for the general public." and the Washington post article quotes Sharon Kneiss, from the American Chemistry Council, stating that "There is no scientific basis for Congress to restrict phthalates from toys and children's products. With over 50 years of research, phthalates are among the most thoroughly studied products in the world, and have been reviewed by multiple regulatory bodies in the U.S. and Europe."

And apparently most of the research on Phthalates, like the research on BPA, has been performed on rodents.

However, a study performed in 2005 came to a different conclusion. Federally funded research by the Center for Reproductive Epidemiology at the University of Rochester Medical School found that male babies born to women with high levels of phthalates in their blood exhibited changes related to low sperm count, undescended testicles and other reproductive problems. In that study, the infants were exposed to phthalate levels way below the doses administered in rat experiments. Other studies have connected some phthalates to liver and kidney cancer.

Health experts argue that dangers may be more significant from cumulative exposure, because phthalates surround babies not only in toys and products but also in breast milk if the mother has been exposed to the chemicals.

The European Union banned six phthalates from children's products in 1999 and more than a dozen other countries have done the same.

My question? How are Phthalates affecting adults?? And where is the list of children's toys that are effected? I'm not sure what to do about this one yet...is this one of the things that results from the convenience of plastics? And if so, would the chemicals that takes the place of Phthalates be any safer? And how would that be determined since they never discover this stuff until it's "too late"?

It's kind of like the whole "trans-fat" situation. Sure, they take all the trans-fat out of foods now-a-days. But they just replace it with saturated fat, and don't mention it. Remember when saturated fat was in the news as so bad for you? And now it's come full circle.

Is this media hype? I'm not sure yet. But I'll try and keep you informed!