Plastic

  [>]Its hallmarks included: Vogel, "The Politics of Plastic," 244.

  [>]The first Wingspread conference: Colborn et al., Our Stolen Future, 253.

  [>]Today, the number may be: Japanese regulators have identified seventy endocrine disrupters (Daly, "Bad Chemistry"); the figure of one thousand comes from John Wargo, "Pervasive Plastics: Why the U.S. Needs New and Tighter Controls," Yale Environment 360 (November 16, 2009).

  [>]by mimicking natural hormones: Colborn et al., Our Stolen Future, 72.

  [>]bisphenol A: The chemical is also present in PVC.

  [>]the bonds holding these long molecules: Author interviews with Fred vom Saal, University of Missouri, Columbia, October 2007, and Bruce LaBelle. See also Vogel, "Politics of Plastic"; Frederick vom Saal et al., "An Extensive New Literature Concerning Low-Dose Effects of Bisphenol A Shows the Need for a New Risk Assessment," Environmental Health Perspectives 113 (August 2005): 926–33 and Wargo et al., "Plastics That May Be Harmful."

  [>]two possible ways to cause static: Wargo et al., "Plastics That May Be Harmful," 22.

  [>]it makes sense: Author interview with vom Saal.

  94 [>]Hormones are produced: Colborn et al., Our Stolen Future, 32.

  [>]a known neurotoxin: Long-term occupational exposure to the chemical may have subtle neurological effects, and a recent report issued by the American Cancer Society, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the National Cancer Institute included styrene among twenty potential carcinogens deserving of more investigation. Reuters, "Report Targets Twenty Possible Causes of Cancer," July 15, 2010.

  95 [>]thirty-seven-billion-dollar global market: BCC Research, "Plastic Additives: The Global Market," June 2009. Synopsis accessed at http://www.bccresearch.com/report/PLS022B.html.

  [>]the recent experience of German researchers: Author interview with Martin Wagne, Department of Aquatic Ecotoxicology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, May 2009. See also M. Wagner et al., "Endocrine Disruptors in Bottled Mineral Water: Total Estrogenic Burden and Migration from Plastic Bottles," Environmental Science Pollution Research International 16 (May 2009): 278–86. Italian researchers reported similar results: B. Pinto et al., "Screening of Estrogen-Like Activity of Mineral Water Stored in PET Bottles," International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 212 (March 2009): 228–32. Leaching of chemicals from PET isn't entirely surprising. Typically, a tiny fraction of the plastic—about 1 percent—consists of molecules that never completely polymerized. These shortened daisy chains, known as oligomers, might be only a few units long. Because they're smaller than polymer molecules, oligomers can sneak out of the plastic matrix, carrying with them any chemical additives or manufacturing residues.

  [>]one possibility is antimony: Ted Schettler in e-mail to author, November 2009. George Bittner, a neuroscientist at the University of Texas, contends that the reports of hormonal activity in polycarbonate, vinyl, and PET are "the tip of the iceberg." Bittner claims to have tested hundreds of common plastics and additives in cell studies and has yet to find any that don't show the capacity to mimic hormones. However, as of mid-2010, his work had not been published in any peer-reviewed journals.

  [>]there's no way for consumers to know: That's true even with cosmetics, which are subject to strict labeling requirements. One study analyzed seventy-two different cosmetic and personal-care products; phthalates weren't listed on the labels of any but were found to be present in fifty-two of the products. Schettler, "Human Exposure," 137.

  96 [>]they are odorless:In 2008, the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice tried to pin down the source of that chemical smell by analyzing new vinyl shower curtains. The analysis, done by independent labs, suggested the smell was not produced by a single chemical but by a mix of dozens. Indeed, the researchers found new vinyl shower curtains contained as many as 108 different volatile organic chemicals, including DEHP and another phthalate, DINP. "Some of these chemicals cause developmental damage as well as damage to the liver and central nervous, respiratory, and reproductive systems." Stephen Lester et al., "Volatile Vinyl: The New Shower Curtain's Chemical Smell," Center for Health, Environment, and Justice, June 2008.

  [>]nonmedical deployment: Schettler, "Human Exposure"; Wargo et al., "Plastics That May Be Harmful"; CERHR, "Monograph." The link to flip-flops was in a recent report published by Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, "Chemicals Up Close: Plastic Shoes from All Over the World," 2009, which found phthalates in seventeen of twenty-seven shoes tested. For a review of studies looking at exposure through food, see Jane Muncke, "Exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Compounds Via the Food Chain: Is Packaging a Relevant Source?" Science of the Total Environment 407 (August 2009): 4549–59. Much of the food-related research has been done in Europe, and it's not clear how well it applies to American markets.

  97 [>]Once the compound enters the bloodstream: Author interviews with Shanna Swan, University of Rochester, October 2007 and October 2009. Also Mark Schapiro, Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2007), 44. The exact mechanisms by which DEHP does damage are not entirely clear, but studies have shown that the chemical can suppress fetal cells that synthesize testosterone; knock out pathways between nurse cells and germ cells that foster the creation of sperm; and reduce production of another growth factor critical in building the reproductive tract. See K. L. Howdeshell et al., "Mechanisms of Action of Phthalate Esters, Individually and in Combination, to Induce Abnormal Reproductive Development in Male Laboratory Rats," Environmental Research 108 (2008): 168–76.

  [>]researchers at the Environmental Protection Agency: National Research Council, Phthalates and Cumulative Risk Assessment, 2008, 5. Also see L. E. Gray Jr. et al., "Perinatal Exposure to the Phthalates DEH, BBP and DINP, but Not DEP, DMP or DOTP Alters Sexual Differentiation of the Male Rat," Toxicology Science 58 (December 2000): 350–65.

  98 [>]female rat pups: B. J. Davis et al., "Di-(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate Suppresses Estradiol and Ovulation in Cycling Rats," Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 128 (1994): 216–23, cited in Wargo et al., "Plastics That May Be Harmful," 40.

  [>]even very small amounts: See L. Øie, L. G. Hersoug, and J. O. Madsen, "Residential Exposure to Plasticizers and Its Possible Role in the Pathogenesis of Asthma," Environmental Health Perspectives 105 (1997): 972–78, cited in Wargo et al., "Plastics That May Be Harmful," 41–45.

  [>]The effects in rats are mirrored: Author interviews with Swan; Joel Tickner, University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Center for Sustainable Production, October 2009; Russ Hauser, physician/researcher at Harvard School for Public Health, October 2009; Rebecca Sutton, senior scientist, Environmental Working Group, September 2009. See also Leonard Paulozzi, "International Trends in Rates of Hypospadias and Cryptorchidism," Environmental Health Perspectives 107 (April 1999): 297–302. Danish researchers have argued that such symptoms are connected, part of a condition they called testicular dysgenesis syndrome, which they traced to errors in the development of fetal testes, caused by either genetic defects or environmental factors, such as exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals. In a paper published in 2001, they contended the syndrome is fairly common, estimating that as many as one in twenty Danish men have at least one or two symptoms. N. E. Skakkebæk et al., "Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome: An Increasingly Common Developmental Disorder with Environmental Aspects," Human Reproduction 16 (May 2001): 972–78.

  [>]at least 80 percent of Americans: B. Blount et al., "Levels of Seven Urinary Phthalate Metabolites in a Human Reference Population," Environmental Health Perspectives 108 (October 2000): 979–82; M. Silva et al., "Urinary Levels of Seven Phthalate Metabolites in the U.S. Population from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2000," Environmental Health Perspectives 112 (March 2004): 331–38. In fact, some studies suggest that just about every American carries at least one pht
halate in his or her system, but until recently the CDC was able to test for only a few of the chemicals' metabolites.

  [>]Researchers have detected phthalates: Wargo et al., "Plastics That May Be Harmful," 39; U.S. EPA, "Action Plan on Phthalates," 2009. It's also been shown that the chemicals can cross the placental barrier.

  [>]None of us are exposed: It's estimated most of us are taking in 1 to 30 micrograms per kilogram of body weight every day, which is a daily exposure of about 70 to 2,100 micrograms for someone weighing 155 pounds. CERHR, "Monograph," 1.

  [>]many of us are taking in more: German researchers found that nearly one-third of the men and women in the study were exceeding the daily-intake limit established by the EPA. In plastic-happy Taiwan, the percentage was 85 percent. The oral threshold set by the EPA in 1986 is 0.02 mg/kg/day, based on the potential for effects to the liver. Wargo et al., "Plastics That May Be Harmful," 40–46.

  [>]people with the highest levels: Blount et al., "Levels of Seven"; D. B. Barr et al., "Assessing Human Exposure to Phthalates Using Monoesters and Their Oxidized Metabolites as Biomarkers," Environmental Health Perspectives 111 (July 2003): 1148–51.

  99 [>]Splish-Splash Jesus: Author interview with Swan.

  [>]Such findings: CERHR, "Monograph."

  [>]the group that seems to be at greatest risk: Interview with Hauser. For more background on NICU babies' exposure, see Ronald Green et al., "Use of Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate-Containing Medical Products and Urinary Levels of Mono(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Infants," Environmental Health Perspectives 113 (September 2005): 1122–25. CERHR, "Monograph"; Julia Barrett, "NTP Draft Brief on DEHP," Environmental Health Perspectives 114 (October 2006): A580–81.

  [>]A really sick baby: Luban et al., "I Want to Say," 504.

  [>]people of any age undergoing procedures: CERHR, "Monograph," 2.

  [>]newborns are underdeveloped: Many scientists consider fetuses, infants, and young children in general to be especially vulnerable to harm from chemicals because their organ systems, metabolic pathways, and hormonal systems are all still developing. Young children also breathe more air and consume more food and drink per pound of body weight, which increases their relative exposure to chemicals in the environment. The National Academy of Sciences in 1993 recognized the special susceptibility of the very young to industrial chemicals in a report on pesticides. Wargo et al., "Plastics That May Be Harmful," 9–10.

  100 [>]We may all be a little plastic: In an interview with the author, physician/researcher Russ Hauser described the difficulty of drawing practical conclusions from the knowledge that a patient is exposed to phthalates. He has done epidemiological studies showing a correlation between phthalate levels and male infertility. Yet he said the nature of that connection is still too uncertain to be of use in his clinical practice, where he works with infertile couples. While he tests their levels of phthalates and other chemicals used in plastics, he rarely shares the results with them because they are difficult to interpret. It's not like dealing with a known risk such as mercury, he said. If one of his patients had high mercury levels, he could tell him or her how that will affect health and how to avoid mercury in the diet. But with phthalates, he said, "I can't even interpret the level in their urine. If they're forty or eighty or a hundred and twenty parts per billion—does that really impart differences in risks? There's just not enough data [to know.]" Plus, he added, "We don't want to make someone who's anxious about having a child even more anxious about completely changing their lifestyle."

  [>]she measured phthalate levels: Author interview with Swan; Shanna Swan et al., "Decrease in Anogenital Distance Among Male Infants with Prenatal Phthalate Exposure," Environmental Health Perspectives 113 (August 2005): 1056–61.

  [>]Swan then decided to look at: Author interview with Swan; Swan et al., "Prenatal Phthalate Exposure and Reduced Masculine Play in Boys," International Journal of Androgyny 33 (April 2010): 259–69.

  102 [>]Other epidemiological findings: For overviews of some of those findings, see Wargo et al., "Plastics That May Be Harmful"; John Meeker et al., "Phthalates and Other Additives in Plastics: Human Exposure and Associated Health Outcomes," Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 364 (July 2009): 2097–113; Russ Hauser et al., "Phthalates and Human Health," Occupational Environmental Medicine 62 (November 2005): 808–18.

  [>]girls may also be affected: A study of Puerto Rican girls found high levels of DEHP in more than two-thirds of the girls with premature sexual development and early breast development compared with only about one in five of the subjects with normal puberty. This study has been criticized for possible failure to control laboratory contribution of DEHP to reported tissue concentrations. I. Colón et al., "Identification of Phthalate Esters in the Serum of Young Puerto Rican Girls with Premature Breast Development," Environmental Health Perspectives 108 (September 2000): 895–900. Women with endometriosis had higher blood levels of DEHP in studies from Italy and India; see L. Cobellis et al., "High Plasma Concentrations of Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate in Women with Endometriosis," Human Reproduction 18 (July 2003): 1512–15; and B. S. Reddy et al., "Association of Phthalate Esters with Endometriosis in Indian Women," BJOG 113 (May 2006): 515–20. Another Italian study also found associations between phthalate levels and uterine fibroids; see'S. Luisi et al., "Low Serum Concentrations of Di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate in Women with Uterine Fibromatosis," Gynecological Endocrinology 22 (February 2006): 92–95.

  [>]A 2010 study suggested: Mike Verespej, "Study Says Phthalates May Harm Newborns' Immune Systems,"Plastics News, July 22, 2010.

  [>]German researchers showed: H. von Rettberg et al., "Use of Di(2-Ethylhexyl)Phthalate-Containing Infusion Systems Increases the Risk for Cholestasis," Pediatrics 124 (August 2009): 710–16.

  [>]studies involving young marmosets: Author interview with Schettler. See C. Mc­Kinnell et al., "Effect of Fetal or Neonatal Exposure to Monobutyl Phthalate (MBP) on Testicular Development and Function in the Marmoset," Human Reproduction 24 (September 2009): 2244–54. See also CERHR, "Monograph."

  [>]Researchers are still debating: The same inconsistencies arise in bisphenol A studies, where the results can be wildly different depending on, for instance, the strain of lab rat that is used. Some are more estrogen-sensitive than others and thus more likely to show response to the chemical. Critics say that's one factor accounting for the huge difference between industry-sponsored studies and those by independent researchers. The animals used in industry-funded studies have been twenty-five thousand to a hundred thousand times less sensitive to estrogen than other species, according to a 2005 study. That same report found that 94 out of 104 studies funded by the government reported significant effects to bisphenol A exposure, while not one of the 11 industry-funded studies found an effect. Frederick vom Saal et al., "Extensive New Literature."

  103 [>]They did a small pilot study: K. Rais-Bahrami et al., "Follow-up Study of Adolescents Exposed to Di(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) as Neonates on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Support," Environmental Health Perspectives 112 (September 2004): 1339–40.

  [>]a study by the organization:Environmental Working Group, "Body Burden—The Pollution in Newborns," July 14, 2005. Accessed at http://www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/execsumm.php.

  [>]Gray ... tested mixtures: Author interview with Earl Gray, October 2009.

  104 [>]The American Chemistry Council's position: Marion Stanley, ACC, quoted in response to FDA public health notification. Also, author interview with Chris Bryant, Phthalate Esters Group, ACC, October 2008. See also CERHR, "Monograph," which contains comments submitted by the ACC in 2005.

  [>]the ACC draws on a standing set of criticisms: Wargo, "Pervasive Plastics." See also phthalates-related press releases listed on the ACC's website at http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_acc/sec_newsroom.asp?CID=206&DID=555.

  105 [>]strategy taken straight from the tobacco industry: David Michaels, "Doubt Is Their Product," Scientific America
n (June 2005): 96.

  106 [>]The EPA ... recently announced: EPA, "Phthalate Action Plan," 2009.

  [>]The FDA's only action: Food and Drug Administration, "FDA Public Health Notification: PVC Devices Containing the Plasticizer DEHP," July 2002. Accessed at http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/AlertsandNotices/PublicHealth Notifications/UCM062182.

  [>]base their safety assessments: Author interview with Schettler. See also Health Care Without Harm,"Aggregate Exposures to Phthalates in Humans," July 2002. Accessed at http://www.noharm.org/lib/downloads/pvc/Agg_Exposures_to_Phthalates.pdf.

  [>]"a scientifically improbable smoking gun": Schapiro, Exposed, 52.

  107 [>]"nearly all chemicals in commerce": Wargo, "Pervasive Plastics." An expanded version of his analysis can be found in his book Green Intelligence: Creating Environments That Protect Human Health New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009).

  [>]at least sixteen thousand: The estimate was made by the EPA and cited in Michael Wilson and Megan Schwarzman, "Toward a New U.S. Chemicals Policy: Rebuilding the Foundation to Advance New Science, Green Chemistry, and Environmental Health," Environmental Health Perspectives 117 (August 2009): 1202–9. The 70 percent estimate was cited by Joel Tickner in an e-mail to the author, October 2010.

  [>]European regulators "act on the principle of preventing": Schapiro, Exposed, 52.

  [>]Europeans began limiting DEHP: In 2001, the EU classified DEHP as "toxic" and also barred its use in cosmetics and in all children's products. Starting in 1998, American toy manufacturers voluntarily removed DEHP from teethers, rattlers, and other toys that could be mouthed by children under the age of three. Yet that doesn't prevent importation of toys containing phthalates, which is significant, since 80 percent of toys sold in the United States are produced in and imported from China, where there's no restriction on the use of DEHP.