VIDEO – IS NO PLACE SAFE? –
Feb. 7, 2024 – The US saw roughly 57,000 preterm births caused by phthalates in 2018. More than 8 million metric tons of phthalates and similar chemicals are consumed annually — either ingested, inhaled or seeped through the skin. Research linked phthalates to cancer, infertility, birth defects, obesity, asthma, heart disease, diabetes and premature death.
However, the American Chemistry Council, a chemical trade association for US industries, maintained that the new report failed to establish a hard connection between phthalates and preterm births.
“Not all phthalates are the same, and it is not appropriate to group them as a class,” the organization told CNN. “The term ‘phthalates’ simply refers to a family of chemicals that happen to be structurally similar, but which are functionally and toxicologically distinct from each other.”
Phthalates are also referred to as “plasticizers” for their plastic-like quality. It’s how vinyl flooring gets its sheen, how paint gets its elasticity and how rain jackets repel water, to name a few examples.
Officials are well aware of the dangers, Trasande noted: “The Consumer Product Safety Commission no longer allows eight different phthalates to be used at levels higher than 0.1% in the manufacture of children’s toys and child care products.
