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Phthalates: Are They Safe?

May 23, 2010 5:01 PM

Chemicals called phthalates, found in soft plastic products we use every day, are so ubiquitous that traces of them can be found in everybody. Are they safe or harmful? Lesley Stahl investigates.

Phthalates: Are They Safe?
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by Tupperware-fanatic April 4, 2011 3:55 PM EDT
I freaked out when I learned about Phthalates in plastic. First thing I did was try to find out about my Tupperware. I actually made sure to buy Tupperware when I had my son b/c it is BPA FREE. I was glad to find out that Tupperwaredoes not use Phthalate either. Saves me hundreds of $.
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by Pastor918 May 25, 2010 2:11 PM EDT
I was horrified by this report, not on account of the "danger" of phthalates but rather by the labeling of "feminization of males" as a "parent's worst nightmare."

First, the report incorrectly linked masculinity to male genitalia. A male's genitalia at birth determines his sex, NOT his gender or masculinity. There are men without in tact "male parts" on account of testicular cancer, vasectomies, injuries, or other circumstances. I certainly would not say those men are more "feminine" or any less "masculine."

I do fear that my son will be bullied; I do fear he will hurt himself or others; I do fear he will not succeed academically. But I certainly do NOT lose sleep over the fear he will be "feminized." What kind of message are you sending to men who do exhibit stereotypically "feminine" characteristics--that they are their parents' worst nightmare?

I appreciated the last doctor's comment that many chemicals can endanger our health (and in ways that cause defects much more terrifying than "feminization"!).
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by sammy601 May 25, 2010 8:33 AM EDT
you should do a more in depth story on cpsc and cpsia and how it has crippled the childrens footwear business. not allowing the use of so many materials and ornaments and insane amount of useless expensive lab testing. this has forced the price to manufacture childrens footwear to rise like never before. finding compliant materials is now more expensive and we can no longer make small quantities. all this because our government is afraid that a 12 year old will eat their shoes. it is so rediculious !! we just sit buy and let our government destroy the industry.
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by ladyafbee May 25, 2010 2:04 AM EDT
a great piece on phthalates from NOW on PBS : http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/412/index.html
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by NTBugtraq May 24, 2010 10:45 PM EDT
Leslie, could I suggest you look into the "viral" effect the rat studies created which have led to the story you presented so far. I think you might find it interesting to see how the access to information, in this case studies which typically might not see the light of the media's eye, have led bloggers to make assertions which may be bolder than those made by the actual researchers. This effect is very common, and in my opinion is degrading the value of professional review, if not professional advice itself.
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by BRHurt May 24, 2010 6:22 PM EDT
Great report, thanks for sharing! The phthalate research may still be inconclusive, but I like how Dr. Sharpe put it at the end of this segment (paraphrase): you should try to eliminate as many environmental toxins from your life as possible, whether they're phthalates or other chemicals.

I work with Digestive Care Expert and Naturopatic Doctor Brenda Watson and she gives some great tips on cleansing your body of these everyday toxins. Feel free to check out her reaction to the President's Cancer Panel's recent findings on toxins: http://blog.brendawatson.com/general/help-reduce-your-toxic-burden-tips-from-the-president%E2%80%99s-cancer-panel/?doing_wp_cron.
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by Moonology16 May 24, 2010 5:54 PM EDT
This is a great story. I wish that 60 min would elaborate more about the European laws around chemical components in consumer products (ie REACH) and how they protect consumers in the beginning before there are any health crisis?s. The REACH law is changing the way manufactures produce their products before health defects actually affect the general population. Europe is cautious when there is any doubt that a chemical might cause some sort of adverse health effect. The American system waits until something happens and then uses the legal system to clean up the mess. In a world where hundreds of new chemicals are being created on a yearly basis, we need a stricter level of protection for the general population to protect against health risks posed by the new chemicals created. The FDA isn?t fully working properly!
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by dtsaylor May 24, 2010 5:43 PM EDT
It is not known that phthalates are the reason for hypospadius or un-descended testicles. These researchers simply have seen some connection between elevated phthalate levels in the mothers of these children, but they didn?t say whether or not hypospadius occurred in mothers with undetectable phthalate levels, which is why their study is misleading. Certainly, you could find a link between many disorders and countless chemicals, but doesn?t mean that any of those chemicals are the cause. One thing everyone failed to mention was the CPSC's statement on phthalates, which mentioned that phthalates had little to no harm to humans. However, studies like the one highlighted in this segment point in the direction of phthalates, yet have no evidence or data to support their findings. There was more evidence discussed in this segment to eliminate phthalates as a contributor to negative health affects than the contrary.
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by ccjones13 May 24, 2010 5:15 PM EDT
I am the mother of a 9 day old baby boy born with epispadias. I found this story to be both informative and disheartening. I welcome more follow up on the subject of phthalates and the EPA's future actions. As for all of you skeptic's out there...it's easy not to see a correlation when it's not your child they are talking about.
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by chip2per May 24, 2010 3:47 PM EDT
I really found the segment to highlight an on-going problem with assessing chemical safety, i.e., the unreliability of animal testing in predicting health risks. This was referred to in the segment, which showed the results of pthalate experiments in pregnant rats (the most commonly used species in chemical testing) conflicted with the results from pregnant primates. We look forward to the implementation of newer, human-based methods, as recommended in the landmark National Research Council Report in 2007. EPA is already moving in this direction and in the future, chemical safely assessment will be enhanced as these methods are refined and adopted.
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