Posted 8:38 pm Monday, September 17, 2007
Are Plastics Hazardous For Babies?
By LAUREN GROVER
Staff Writer
Lifting a baby bottle to an infant’s lips shouldn’t be frightening.
But, environmentalists are warning parents that most soft plastic baby products — bottles, play toys, bath books — contain enough toxins to hurt a child.
These items stay on the shelves.
From plastics to popcorn fumes, talk of carcinogen dangers saturates American life: warning labels, research, 6 p.m. “Hidden Danger” news specials.
Some gain momentum in research laboratories and even legislation — others don’t.
Moms and dads are left to wonder: how serious is each finding?
“Everything these days seems to cause cancer — toilet paper, everything,” said Nicole Mathis, a Tyler resident and mother of two. “It makes you want to research, to take a step back and look at what products your kids are using. But it’s hard.”
Mathis calls the glut of pediatric health information as much a hindrance as a help.
TOXIN-LEACHING BABY BOTTLES?
For nearly a decade environmentalists have cried out that plasticizing chemicals used to manufacture plastic baby bottles contain harmful toxins.
Phthalates and Bisphenol-A are hormone-mimicking chemicals used to soften various plastic items used daily in most American households.
Staff Writer
Lifting a baby bottle to an infant’s lips shouldn’t be frightening.
But, environmentalists are warning parents that most soft plastic baby products — bottles, play toys, bath books — contain enough toxins to hurt a child.
These items stay on the shelves.
From plastics to popcorn fumes, talk of carcinogen dangers saturates American life: warning labels, research, 6 p.m. “Hidden Danger” news specials.
Some gain momentum in research laboratories and even legislation — others don’t.
Moms and dads are left to wonder: how serious is each finding?
“Everything these days seems to cause cancer — toilet paper, everything,” said Nicole Mathis, a Tyler resident and mother of two. “It makes you want to research, to take a step back and look at what products your kids are using. But it’s hard.”
Mathis calls the glut of pediatric health information as much a hindrance as a help.
TOXIN-LEACHING BABY BOTTLES?
For nearly a decade environmentalists have cried out that plasticizing chemicals used to manufacture plastic baby bottles contain harmful toxins.
Phthalates and Bisphenol-A are hormone-mimicking chemicals used to soften various plastic items used daily in most American households.
Both have been found to leach from plastic in small amounts insignificant to adults but potentially harmful to developing infants.
Phthalates have been linked to reproductive system damage, cancer and asthma; Bisphenol-A to learning disabilities, obesity, hormone development and fetus development.
Phthalates are in most baby products — toys, teethers, rubber duckies.
Bisphenol-A is found in clear plastic baby bottles and reusable water bottles.
Since 1997, research teams around the globe have studied the chemicals’ effects.
The results have elicited various responses worldwide.
In the United States the U.S. Federal Drug Administration released a warning about the phthalate DEHP in plastic medical equipment (like IV tubing), saying developing males should take the most precaution.
But findings on plasticizers in baby products have yet to alarm the FDA or U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission into further action.
One U.S. city took the issue into its own environmentally sensitive hands.
In 2006, San Francisco signed a ban on plastic baby products containing phthalates into law. The law was never enforced and was revoked earlier this year, but discussion about the two chemicals continues to buzz in the California legislature.
Across the Atlantic, more stringent action has been taken.
In 1999 the European Union placed a temporary ban on all plastic items containing phthalates — it still stands.
Fourteen other countries have banned or phased out phthalates from children’s toys.
EXPERTS SAY STOP THE ALARM
Considering the spectrum of response, should parents be worried?
Two Texas pediatric health experts say no.
Dr. Debra Cherry, a medical consultant for the Southwest Center of Pediatric Environmental Health at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, says the chemicals liberated from heated soft plastic is far below the threshold for health effects, even in animal studies.
“The plasticizers, the amount a child gets from sucking on a toy (or from a bottle) is so tiny that by itself it’s not enough to exert a health effect in people that we know of,” she said.
She said although advocacy groups are “very vocal,” the United States has better health and safety standards than many other countries.
Dr. Luis Casas, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Trinity Clinic in Tyler, agreed.
“We are depending on our regulatory agencies to tell us what is and is not safe,” he said. “We have to trust that the FDA and CPSC are watching out for us — I rely on the well-known and respected organizations.”
Jenny Bien, a Chandler mom who has two kids and a full-time job, said trusting those organizations is essential.
“If it’s big enough it’ll come out, I’ll hear about it,” Bien said.
Moms she knows bounce health issues off one another, she said, though their level of alarm varies.
“My perspective is I can’t freak out about every little thing,” she said. “My children are 13 months apart, and just taking care of them on a day-to-day basis is a big job … you have to find balance.”
ONE TREE, A FOREST OF CHILDREN’S HEALTH
Bien said her family’s health needs are often more unscientific: spending time together and living out their Christian faith, an aspect of wellness that’s “not just physical health, but our health as a family.”
For color technician and Tyler artist Bojack, raising 6-year-old Jamira means exercise, anti-bacterial soap, healthy eating and Wednesdays at the park.
But considering pediatric health concerns isn’t always easy.
“You can’t overlook anything when you have a child,” Bojack said.
These basics statutes of healthy child-rearing are the true issue, said Dr. Cherry, ones parents can overlook.
“Diet and exercise are far more important to an individual child than whether to use a plastic bottle or not,” she said. “These things deserve attention. I don’t want parents to get so distracted that they miss the forest for the trees.”
Doctors at the SCPEH focus on issues that impact large numbers and have greater health effects on children, she said.
These include poverty, health insurance, smoking and obesity.
These are obvious needs, she said. A chemical danger is not as clear.
“Not just Bisphenol-A and phthalates, there are all sorts of chemicals, metals, pesticides, both naturally occurring and manmade (in a child’s environment),” she said. “We don’t really have studies to duplicate that mixture.”
But some parents still say, why not take extra precautions?
Writer of I Hate Snaps, a daddy’s child-rearing blog, dad “Kaz” says to “try harder with the next one” he’s throwing out the plastic bottles.
“Sure, some say the dangers of plastic baby bottles are overblown, but why take the chances?” he writes.
Dr. Cherry said this switch can be just as troublesome.
“I wouldn’t necessarily recommend a glass bottle — it could cut the child,” she said. “You must compare the risk: getting cut or possible chemicals coming off.”
Dr. Cherry said instead, parents should simply take extra precautions.
Don’t boil milk in the plastic bottle or overheat it in the microwave, she said.
Also, avoiding products that are brand new the market can be wise — if they have any defects they are usually pulled within a short time.
Dr. Cherry said she believes better testing of unknown toxins is on its way.
In 2001 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention began environmental exposure monitoring around the nation in both children and adults.
“It’s difficult — it’s such a broad area, and because of mixed exposure and low-level exposure, it’s hard to study,” she said. “Now with new national monitoring data there will be better data … We’ll learn what indicates exposure.”
Phthalates have been linked to reproductive system damage, cancer and asthma; Bisphenol-A to learning disabilities, obesity, hormone development and fetus development.
Phthalates are in most baby products — toys, teethers, rubber duckies.
Bisphenol-A is found in clear plastic baby bottles and reusable water bottles.
Since 1997, research teams around the globe have studied the chemicals’ effects.
The results have elicited various responses worldwide.
In the United States the U.S. Federal Drug Administration released a warning about the phthalate DEHP in plastic medical equipment (like IV tubing), saying developing males should take the most precaution.
But findings on plasticizers in baby products have yet to alarm the FDA or U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission into further action.
One U.S. city took the issue into its own environmentally sensitive hands.
In 2006, San Francisco signed a ban on plastic baby products containing phthalates into law. The law was never enforced and was revoked earlier this year, but discussion about the two chemicals continues to buzz in the California legislature.
Across the Atlantic, more stringent action has been taken.
In 1999 the European Union placed a temporary ban on all plastic items containing phthalates — it still stands.
Fourteen other countries have banned or phased out phthalates from children’s toys.
EXPERTS SAY STOP THE ALARM
Considering the spectrum of response, should parents be worried?
Two Texas pediatric health experts say no.
Dr. Debra Cherry, a medical consultant for the Southwest Center of Pediatric Environmental Health at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, says the chemicals liberated from heated soft plastic is far below the threshold for health effects, even in animal studies.
“The plasticizers, the amount a child gets from sucking on a toy (or from a bottle) is so tiny that by itself it’s not enough to exert a health effect in people that we know of,” she said.
She said although advocacy groups are “very vocal,” the United States has better health and safety standards than many other countries.
Dr. Luis Casas, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Trinity Clinic in Tyler, agreed.
“We are depending on our regulatory agencies to tell us what is and is not safe,” he said. “We have to trust that the FDA and CPSC are watching out for us — I rely on the well-known and respected organizations.”
Jenny Bien, a Chandler mom who has two kids and a full-time job, said trusting those organizations is essential.
“If it’s big enough it’ll come out, I’ll hear about it,” Bien said.
Moms she knows bounce health issues off one another, she said, though their level of alarm varies.
“My perspective is I can’t freak out about every little thing,” she said. “My children are 13 months apart, and just taking care of them on a day-to-day basis is a big job … you have to find balance.”
ONE TREE, A FOREST OF CHILDREN’S HEALTH
Bien said her family’s health needs are often more unscientific: spending time together and living out their Christian faith, an aspect of wellness that’s “not just physical health, but our health as a family.”
For color technician and Tyler artist Bojack, raising 6-year-old Jamira means exercise, anti-bacterial soap, healthy eating and Wednesdays at the park.
But considering pediatric health concerns isn’t always easy.
“You can’t overlook anything when you have a child,” Bojack said.
These basics statutes of healthy child-rearing are the true issue, said Dr. Cherry, ones parents can overlook.
“Diet and exercise are far more important to an individual child than whether to use a plastic bottle or not,” she said. “These things deserve attention. I don’t want parents to get so distracted that they miss the forest for the trees.”
Doctors at the SCPEH focus on issues that impact large numbers and have greater health effects on children, she said.
These include poverty, health insurance, smoking and obesity.
These are obvious needs, she said. A chemical danger is not as clear.
“Not just Bisphenol-A and phthalates, there are all sorts of chemicals, metals, pesticides, both naturally occurring and manmade (in a child’s environment),” she said. “We don’t really have studies to duplicate that mixture.”
But some parents still say, why not take extra precautions?
Writer of I Hate Snaps, a daddy’s child-rearing blog, dad “Kaz” says to “try harder with the next one” he’s throwing out the plastic bottles.
“Sure, some say the dangers of plastic baby bottles are overblown, but why take the chances?” he writes.
Dr. Cherry said this switch can be just as troublesome.
“I wouldn’t necessarily recommend a glass bottle — it could cut the child,” she said. “You must compare the risk: getting cut or possible chemicals coming off.”
Dr. Cherry said instead, parents should simply take extra precautions.
Don’t boil milk in the plastic bottle or overheat it in the microwave, she said.
Also, avoiding products that are brand new the market can be wise — if they have any defects they are usually pulled within a short time.
Dr. Cherry said she believes better testing of unknown toxins is on its way.
In 2001 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention began environmental exposure monitoring around the nation in both children and adults.
“It’s difficult — it’s such a broad area, and because of mixed exposure and low-level exposure, it’s hard to study,” she said. “Now with new national monitoring data there will be better data … We’ll learn what indicates exposure.”
