brittone2
05-28-2008, 03:05 PM
Moms Rising has a petition going. There are 9 days left...please, if this of interest to you, I urge you to write your Congressperson.
I modified the Moms Rising standard message to include my thoughts on the synergistic nature of phthalates combined w/ pesticides
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Iam writing to express my strong support for including the Feinstein Amendment restricting the use of six toxic phthalates in children’s toys in the House/Senate Conference Committee reconciliation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act (CPSC Act).
Phthalates, a toxic chemicals used in many soft, plastic toys like rubber ducks, teething rings and bath books and can leech out of these toys when children chew on them. Scientists have linked phthalates to early onset of puberty in girls, birth defects in baby boys, testicular cancer and liver problems.
Parents shouldn't have to become experts on toxic chemicals. Please protect our nation's children by supporting the Feinstein Amendment to restrict the use of six toxic phthalates.
My husband is a chemist, and I am a pediatric physical therapist. We both feel passionately that phthalates are a very real health risk. We also believe that because they can act synergistically with other chemicals like pesticides (based on EPA research), the so-called "safe doses" are a scientific farce.
From Newsweek:
"L. Earl Gray Jr., a research biologist at the EPA, has tested mixtures of two or more phthalates in animals. He deliberately selected doses of each that were too low to cause effects individually—yet found that as many as 50 percent of male rats who were exposed to the combination in utero developed abnormalities in the reproductive tract. In his latest study, he combined three phthalates with four pesticides and found that at the highest doses, the effects equaled those of a sevenfold dose of a single phthalate. "All the males were malformed," he says."
(see this article for full text:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/105588/page/2).
The plastics industry wants us to believe there are "safe" doses. However, the science involved generally involves looking at these estrogen mimicking compounds in isolation. The interplay between these hormone disrupting chemicals is not yet fully understood (as evidenced by what happens when we combine phthalates and pesticides for example). Real life exposure leads us to be bombarded with multiple hormone disruptors constantly (Flame retardants, phthalates, parabens, pesticides, bisphenol A, etc.) For this reason, I don't believe there is a truly "safe" level of phthalates that we should be advocating at this point in time. We simply do not understand the chemical synergy that occurs between these hormone disruptors.
We aren't exposed to phthalates in isolation. We are bombarded with multiple hormone disruptors simultaneously. Our children's exposure begins in the womb.
Please continue to serve the interests of families like mine across America before serving the interests of an industry that puts its financial interests center stage. Our children deserve better.
Sincerely,
brittone2
==============================================
I know the plastics industry keeps insisting that toys, etc. fall into the "safe" doses that have been calculated. For this reason, I personally believe it is important to point out the new EPA research and the fact that we don't know what "safe" is since we are talking about exposure to multiple hormone disrupting chemicals simultaneously.
Momsrising.org is a great organization. Consider signing their online petition or writing your Congressperson on your own if phthalates are a concern for your family.
Thanks for putting up with me :)
I modified the Moms Rising standard message to include my thoughts on the synergistic nature of phthalates combined w/ pesticides
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iam writing to express my strong support for including the Feinstein Amendment restricting the use of six toxic phthalates in children’s toys in the House/Senate Conference Committee reconciliation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act (CPSC Act).
Phthalates, a toxic chemicals used in many soft, plastic toys like rubber ducks, teething rings and bath books and can leech out of these toys when children chew on them. Scientists have linked phthalates to early onset of puberty in girls, birth defects in baby boys, testicular cancer and liver problems.
Parents shouldn't have to become experts on toxic chemicals. Please protect our nation's children by supporting the Feinstein Amendment to restrict the use of six toxic phthalates.
My husband is a chemist, and I am a pediatric physical therapist. We both feel passionately that phthalates are a very real health risk. We also believe that because they can act synergistically with other chemicals like pesticides (based on EPA research), the so-called "safe doses" are a scientific farce.
From Newsweek:
"L. Earl Gray Jr., a research biologist at the EPA, has tested mixtures of two or more phthalates in animals. He deliberately selected doses of each that were too low to cause effects individually—yet found that as many as 50 percent of male rats who were exposed to the combination in utero developed abnormalities in the reproductive tract. In his latest study, he combined three phthalates with four pesticides and found that at the highest doses, the effects equaled those of a sevenfold dose of a single phthalate. "All the males were malformed," he says."
(see this article for full text:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/105588/page/2).
The plastics industry wants us to believe there are "safe" doses. However, the science involved generally involves looking at these estrogen mimicking compounds in isolation. The interplay between these hormone disrupting chemicals is not yet fully understood (as evidenced by what happens when we combine phthalates and pesticides for example). Real life exposure leads us to be bombarded with multiple hormone disruptors constantly (Flame retardants, phthalates, parabens, pesticides, bisphenol A, etc.) For this reason, I don't believe there is a truly "safe" level of phthalates that we should be advocating at this point in time. We simply do not understand the chemical synergy that occurs between these hormone disruptors.
We aren't exposed to phthalates in isolation. We are bombarded with multiple hormone disruptors simultaneously. Our children's exposure begins in the womb.
Please continue to serve the interests of families like mine across America before serving the interests of an industry that puts its financial interests center stage. Our children deserve better.
Sincerely,
brittone2
==============================================
I know the plastics industry keeps insisting that toys, etc. fall into the "safe" doses that have been calculated. For this reason, I personally believe it is important to point out the new EPA research and the fact that we don't know what "safe" is since we are talking about exposure to multiple hormone disrupting chemicals simultaneously.
Momsrising.org is a great organization. Consider signing their online petition or writing your Congressperson on your own if phthalates are a concern for your family.
Thanks for putting up with me :)