Phthalates banned

Phthalates banned

Have you ever heard of phthalates before? The name phthalate comes from phthalic acid, which contains carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

You may have heard them mentioned in the news recently. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California has banned this group of chemicals from children’s toys. He did so because phthalates can cause health problems in large doses, and children are especially vulnerable. Sounds like a good law, right? Wrong. The levels of phthalates in toys are so low that they are not a threat to humans. And these chemicals are very useful in many applications. They are added to PVC plastic to make it softer and more flexible. This softened plastic is then used to make many toy parts. It is used in medical applications, too. Bags used to store blood donations are made out of softened PVC. Without this material, the blood would spoil in half the time. This material is also used in medical tubing, such as for dialysis machines. If you own an iPod, you are already using a device that contains phthalates. But don’t worry. As I said, the amounts of phthalates in these products are safe.

The governor is not the only government official to ban phthalates. The European Union and a dozen other countries did the same in the past. But in April of 2006, the EU published the results of a long-term study. It says that for the studied phthalates there is no risk to humans. They were wrong to eliminate these useful chemicals.

The California law was passed out of fear, not good, solid science. It is eliminating a helpful substance without a supportable reason. This is not how laws should be created.