Phthalates, a group of ubiquitous chemicals that are
perennial darlings of the anti-chemical movement, have been accused of being
responsible for just about everything from birth defects to the assassination
of Archduke Ferdinand. Well, now they may be going onto California’s chemical
wastebasket called “Proposition 65”, ostensibly a list of chemicals that cause
cancer or reproductive toxicity.
The list itself is mostly a joke, as pointed out by
ACSH’s Dr. Josh Bloom in his 2012 op-ed called Proposition Preposterous. It
includes a host of perfectly safe, common drugs, foods and chemicals that are
consumed every day.
Phthalates have been used for decades to soften plastics
(among many other uses). The best example is IV tubing, which would be a really
unpleasant experience without something to soften it and make it flexible. But
these plasticizers are found almost everywhere—in cars, flooring and other everyday
building materials. Some types of phthalates are found in cosmetics and
cleaning products, too.
But the real story here is the amateurish science that
generated the scare in the first place. The experiments from which conclusions
were drawn were so poorly designed that an accurate assessment of any real risk
(or lack thereof) of phthalates is impossible to determine…..To Read More….
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