The study on plastic chemicals in the human body has now been published in the Journal of Enviornmental Health Perspectives.

Highlights:

The body levels of three chemicals used in cosmetics (including fingernail polish) and solvents were higher than anticipated, in some cases higher than other well-studied pollutants like PCBs. The three were diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and benzylbutyl phthalate (BzBP).

The highest levels were found in women of child-bearing age. However, even women with the highest levels had 100 times fewer phthalates in their bodies than the level which caused birth defects in animals. (This would seem to be the age range which uses the most cosmetics.)

Phthalates do not build up in the body, they are excreted within days. There remains an open question on whether repeated exposure might be harmful.

The study does not address health effects and cautioned, "It would be premature for people to assume this means anything other than we are exposed to these compounds."

Extraced from AP article, 9/1/00

-- Ken S. in TN (scharabo@aol.com), September 02, 2000

Answers

Women have more fat cells then men so it is reasonable to say that is why they have the highest levels. I know my husband showed no effects of the chemical problems my son and I show. Hopefully my son will detox faster once he hits puberty.

By the way, the government levels are listed as "what most people can tolerate", so the sensitives like me and others don't count.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), September 02, 2000.

I forgot to include the study was based on 289 urine samples from adults. I assume there will be a follow-up study with a larger sampling. Would be interesting to see how varying social/economic/religious groups compared. I would have thought the Amish would have low levels, but someone had a response to another posting that she knew Amish who loved Tupperware just as much as anyone else.

-- Ken S. in TN (scharabo@aol.com), September 02, 2000.

Ken, I have a lot of environmental allergies (pretty severe) as well as severe food allergies. Do you have web sites, etc. for web sites that would include info on this?

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), September 02, 2000.

Suzy:

Check out my earlier post on this subject. Several people provided web sites for further information.

-- Ken S. in TN (scharabo@aol.com), September 02, 2000.

I have to say this, about that. The 50's and 60's children were fed from school luncheons, on Fiber Glass trays. Remember those sectioned off spaces? Scrape enough Fiber Glass from your dessert, and lick the plate, while you hoped no one looked. Believe you me, I have no desire to type this. Something to think about. Why all the influx of A.D.D.?, didn't have them, or all the ear infections years ago. Somethings's happening here. Blast away.....

-- Believe enough, no snake handler (notto@rotatefood.com), September 03, 2000.