Fw: Exposure To Questionable Chemcial Higher Than Expected

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From: " ilena rose " <ilena@...>

Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2001 10:58 AM

Subject: Exposure To Questionable Chemcial Higher Than Expected

> http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/341/314568.html

>

> Exposure To Questionable Chemical Higher Than Expected, Study Finds

>

> March 21, 2001

>

> ATLANTA (AP) - Americans' bodies harbor surprisingly high amounts of a

> chemical used in soap and cosmetics, federal health officials reported

> Wednesday in the first nationwide study to measure levels of 24

> environmental toxins in people's blood and urine.

>

> Animal studies suggest that large amounts of the chemical, diethyl

> phthalate, may disrupt normal hormone function and cause birth defects.

The

> government is studying whether repeated exposure is harmful to humans.

>

> Previous studies of environmental toxins have measured levels only in air,

> soil and water. Measuring how much of certain chemicals Americans absorb

is

> crucial to determining if specific diseases are caused by pollutants.

>

> Levels of diethyl phthalate were ``considerably higher than one would have

> predicted,'' said Dr. , director of the National Center for

> Environmental Health.

>

> ``It may mean that the compound is able to get into humans better because

> it's directly applied to the skin,'' said Dr. Jim Pirkle, deputy director

of

> laboratories for NCEH.

>

> The Consumer Product Safety Council has recommended that toy makers stop

> using phthalates, used in plastics to soften such things as doll heads and

> teething rings.

>

> The numbers, based on a 1999 study of 3,800 people across the country, may

> affect government regulation of toxins such as lead, mercury and

pesticides.

> In many cases, there are no previous numbers available for comparison.

>

> The government plans to conduct the study annually, expanding it to more

> than 100 chemicals. Those reports will be broken down by demographic

> categories such as race, age, education and geographic region.

>

> ``It could be revolutionary in terms of environmental health in the United

> States,'' said.

>

>