San Francisco was recently considering a law outlawing certain chemicals in plastics from being used in children’s products, from toys to bottles. Of the two chemicals they are considering banning (not sure if the ban went through or not), one is apparently already banned in Europe. But companies that comply with European manufacturing regulations still sell the “contaminated” plastic products in the US because they are cheaper.
1 – can anyone who understands this better than I do make heads or tails of all the conflicting medical studies out there? Some studies say the link is conclusive, and that children today are already showing signs of problems when using these toys for teething, or drinking out of plastic bottles. Other studies say it’s all a crock, but many of these are funded by plastic manufacturing companies.
2 – as there’s no way to find out if products sold in the US contain any of these contaminants, is there any way to at least find out which products specifically DON’T so I can go out of my way to buy those for my infant son?
Any help would be appreciated. Not sure if I’m worrying over nothing, or if I need to act to help ensure my kid’s safety…
I don’t think you’re going to get a definitive answer on whether this is bad for children or not. I do know that at phthalates have been controversial in Europe for years, and have been banned in some places. The chemical industry argues that phthalates break down very quickly in the body. They’re quite widely used, even in cosmetics, I understand.
I’ve been a little phobic in the past about phthalates, even to the extent of not letting my kids have Femo clay – and then the other day, I discovered while applying caulk and smoothing it with my finger, as I’ve been doing for years, that phthalates are a major component. Oh, well, I guess I’m not dead yet.
I can’t speak to the merits of the concerns about phthalates, one way or the other. What I would like to address is the reasoning you’re using at the end of your post, Sal. The assumption is that chronic exposure in an adult is going to carry the same risk following the same pattern as chronic, or even acute, exposure in a child. My understanding is that there are a number of hazards that are relatively benign to adults that are still a hazard to children, simply because of the difference in cell division rates of the two populations. The best example I can think of, off the top of my head, is that the effects of chronic low-level ionizing radiation exposure are more noticeble in children and infants than in adults. I have to wonder whether the mechanism for damage for phthalates might be another such hazard.
If you are really worried about it, there are many toys and teethers out there that don’t have PVC in them. It is a strong selling point, so many of them proudly state that fact somewhere on their packaging.
I work at an upscale baby store so I speak from first hand experience. We get tons paranoid moms in asking questions about what is safe and what isn’t. I tell them that it depends on what study you read and, if they are really paranoid, to check out the packaging.
Now, from what I understand it’s almost impossible to find out which toys/bottles/etc have the chemicals in them or not… how do know, Shera?
I understand the uncertainty of the studies, but if the products were at least labelled with this information, I’d be willing to spend my money on the items that don’t have it.
Well, given that the compounds in question contain aromatic rings, the first thing that comes to mind as a possible harmful pathway is if they interact with the aromatic rings contained in proteins and DNA…
Could they be harmful? Anything with one of those rings can.
Are they? Not proven either way so far, as you said in the OP. And many compounds that are a natural and necessary part of the body have those rings (including every single DNA and RNA strand).
The Sex Is Fun podcast has been on an anti-phthalate-in-sex-toys campaign for a couple of years now. I believe that they mention a possible effect on unborn children as part of the reason why. I don’t know if they have any better cites than we do, though.
Not all of them are labeled this way, but many of the ones that my store carries are. Sometimes it is in fine print on the back of the package, sometimes it is in big letters on the front. It is unlikely that it will say if it DOES have PVC in it, but you can defenatly find ones that say they DON’T. I see them every day, I know they exist.
If there is a particular toy or bottle or whatever that you already have that you are fond of, you may consider contacting the company and asking them. I can guarantee they get calls like that all the time. If they for some reason don’t know, don’t buy the product.
Granted the studies all say different things, and you can do this or not. It really depends on how much effort you are willing to go through for it.
