American Chemistry Council’s alert on phthalates
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Remember that story we wrote about a month ago about the ‘new shower curtain smell’?
Vinyl shower curtains sold at major retailers across the country emit toxic chemicals that have been linked to serious health problems, according to a report released Thursday by a national environmental organization... The study found that PVC shower curtains contained high concentrations of phthalates, which have been linked to reproductive effects, and varying concentrations of organotins, which are compounds based on tin and hydrocarbons. One of the curtains tested released measurable quantities of as many as 108 volatile organic compounds into the air, some of which persisted for nearly a month.
Well, back then the American Chemistry Council, a trade organization representing the chemical industry, issued a statement assuring the public that there was ‘no reliable evidence’ that phthalates were harmful, linked to serious health problems, or even tied to the new smell.
This week, the council came out with a media alert about the phthalates, which they said are ‘commonly used in a wide variety of vinyl products to make them flexible and durable.’ The alert was ‘in response to inaccurate statements about phthalates that have been perpetuated in the news cycle in recent months.’ It also provided a list of plastic products in the U.S. that are ‘typically not made of vinyl (and thus are not made with phthalates).’
These include food packaging, baby bottles and baby bottle nipples, plastic water bottles, plastic food containers, and polyethylene terephthalate or PET (despite the name), according to the release. Plastic food wrap is apparently usually softened with plasticizers that are not phthalate esters, according to the group.
The American Chemistry Council is happy to answer your questions about phthalates and to provide more information about where phthalates are used. Please contact us or visit www.phthalates.org for more information.
-- Tami Abdollah