Phthalates are everywhere. Just ask the insects. Well, you can ask, but you won’t get an answer. Unless you’re a scientist like Alain Lenoir, of the Francois Rabelais University in Tours, France. He has found that phthalates are on the cuticles of ants all over the world. His team has found phthalates on wood crickets [...]
Researchers Link Childhood Asthma and Phthalates
October 1, 2012 By 2 Comments
A new study has found a link between two types of phthalates in personal-care products and asthma in children. Conducted by the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health in New York, the study found that all of the 244 children between the ages of 5 and 9 had detectible levels of phthalates in their urine. [...]
Researchers See Link Between Phthalates, Child Obesity
July 13, 2012 By 5 Comments
South Korean researchers may have given more bad news for phthalates, the chemicals often found in plastics that make them softer and more pliable. Researchers at the Inje University College in Seoul have released study results showing that phthalates may be linked to higher rates of obesity in children, reports U.S. News and World Report’s [...]
Plastic-Free Lives: Sensible or Unnecessary?
June 12, 2012 By 2 Comments
Over the past few years, the public has grown more concerned about chemicals in plastics and food packaging. Some consumers have gone to the point of eliminating plastic from their lives, substituting it with glass, ceramic, terracotta, and paper. Chemicals of most concern are bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, both of which have been linked [...]
Tested Garden Products Contain High Levels of Chemicals
May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
An environmental research group has found that 70% of 179 garden tools and products it has tested contained chemicals of “high concern,” including phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA). The study conducted by the Ecology Center, based in Ann Arbor, MI, tested 90 garden hoses, 53 gloves, 13 kneeling pads, and 23 garden tools currently available [...]
Study Links Phthalates to Diabetes
April 17, 2012 By 2 Comments
High blood levels of phthalates — chemicals that are commonly used to soften plastics — may double the risk of type 2 diabetes in older adults, Swedish researchers are reporting. While the research is disputed, the research could add pressure to conduct more tests to determine what are the chemicals’ comprehensive effects on human health, [...]
Be Careful What You Wish For in Plastic Substitutes
May 9, 2011 By 1 Comment
Been buying plastic products that tout themselves to be “BPA Free”? Well, you should be wondering what chemical has been substituted for BPA (its full name is Bisphenol A) in the plastic. As reported by Erica Geis in The New York Times, Bisphenol S is used in place of BPA. The chemical is similar to [...]
Pediatricians Want Stricter Regulations on BPA and Other Chemicals
May 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) wants an overhaul of the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The organization says the policy overseeing chemical safety doesn’t adequately protect pregnant women and children from chemicals such as the plastic additives bisphenol-A and phthalates and adhesives (which tend to be polymers). The 35-year-old act has been criticized in recent [...]
