Phthalates Plastic kills!
Used in plastics to soften them and increase their flexibility, phthalates are ubiquitous in our daily life … and are even found on our plates.
It is not for nothing that they are called in English the everywhere chemicals: phthalates are present in many products or plastics that surround us. Despite several studies implicating them in diseases such as diabetes or obesity, few laws regulate their use, especially in everyday products.
For the first time, American researchers have linked phthalates to a higher risk of death in humans, particularly from cardiovascular disease. They hope that this additional evidence will help to better regulate these chemicals.
The ubiquity of phthalates
Shampoos often contain phthalates.Shampoos, cosmetics, children’s toys, plastic food containers, floor coverings… and even in the plastic tubes used for infusions: phthalates are everywhere in our daily life. They are commonly added to plastics to make them softer.
“They enter the body by contact with the skin, but also by inhalation – we find it in dust – or even by ingestion when they have been in contact with food”, details Leonardo Trasande, professor at the New York University and principal investigator of a study published in October in the journal Environmental Pollution.
A risk of mortality of 1%
The study was conducted on 5,303 adults over the age of 20. It shows by extrapolation that, for the 55-64 age group of the American population, 100,000 deaths per year could be attributable to phthalates.
This figure, “it is a bit to strike people’s imaginations,” said Martin Juneau, cardiologist and director of prevention at the Montreal Heart Institute.
He specifies that the risk of mortality linked to phthalates is actually close to 1%. Doesn’t it seem like much? Think again. “For example, a cholesterol medication like statins decreases the risk [of heart death] by 1%. Here, we are talking about a risk of total mortality – not just cardiovascular – of 1%. Out of a Canadian population of 38 million, that’s quite a few people, ”explains Dr. Juneau.
A long-standing problem
Children are particularly exposed to phthalates when they put plastic toys in their mouths. This recent study is far from the first to look at phthalates: for years now, the scientific community has sounded the alarm bells about these chemicals. So far, few articles have linked them to cardiovascular disease, says Martin Juneau.
Establishing a cause and effect link: a major challenge
These studies are often experimental (done on animals) or epidemiological. For example, exposure to phthalates can be estimated “based on a dietary questionnaire or lifestyle”, explains Dr. Juneau. But the study that has just been published stands out: “Here, we measured [phthalates] directly in the urine, it is solid,” he says.
However, no study can be done on humans to establish a causal link with certainty. “It’s a bit like tobacco. You can’t do randomized studies and make people smoke for 20 years, stop others from smoking, and count the deaths, ”he says.
It is therefore necessary to gather a sufficient amount of evidence by multiplying experimental and epidemiological studies, then “to examine the results of the whole and to determine whether there is enough evidence to act”.
However, experimental and epidemiological studies accumulate year after year, but few regulations have been put in place to limit the use of these chemicals in industry. Among the various phthalates, only DEHP is currently considered by Health Canada to be toxic to health and the environment: it is banned in cosmetics, and limited in medical devices and children’s products. Other phthalates, such as PVC or DINP, are not regulated: yet, for example, DINP has been associated with a risk of cancer in rats and mice.
Some companies are using these chemicals and are lobbying vigorously that they can continue to use them. I’ll let you interpret what this means in relation to the public policy decision-making process.
What to do to avoid phthalates?
Heat greatly increases the breakdown of plastics, which release phthalates into food. While waiting for appropriate legislation, it is possible to adopt several habits to avoid contact with phthalates as much as possible in everyday life. They are not expensive and do not require a doctorate in chemistry,” jokes Leonardo Trasande.
Avoid plastic containers as much as possible, cook as much as possible, and consume as little ultra-processed food as possible, that’s always good advice. Never heat your lunch in a plastic container. Heat greatly increases the degradation of plastics, and it is then found in food, ”explains Martin Juneau.
Plastic kills: 100,000 premature deaths linked to phthalates in the United States
An American study clearly establishes the direct link between exposure to these chemical compounds, considered endocrine disruptors, and death from cardiovascular disease or cancer.
Almost 100,000 deaths per year. Behind this appalling record hides a chemical compound with a barbaric name: phthalates. Present in plastics, it is found in food and everyday objects, food, clothing, cosmetics, toys. According to a study released on Tuesday, it could lead to the premature deaths of 100,000 Americans aged 55 to 64 each year.
These phthalates are considered to be endocrine disruptors harmful to health, but the direct link between exposure to these products and deaths from cardiovascular disease or cancer in the United States has not yet been established with certainty. Says the study from New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, published in the journal Environmental Pollution. Researchers analyzed the effects of phthalate exposure on a population of 5,303 adults over the age of 20.
Direct link to phthalates and death
Researchers analyzed the effects of phthalate exposure on a population of 5,303 adults over the age of 20. The study and the biological (especially urine) analyzes of the participants took place between 2001 and 2010, before the mortality statistics were analyzed until the end of 2015. The data analyzes were extracted in July 2020. Phthalates, poison in plastic Phthalates are chemicals that are used in the composition of the vast majority of plastics and some cosmetic products. Found in large quantities in the environment, phthalates are highly toxic to humans and their use is increasingly regulated in Europe. Phthalates are chemicals derived from phthalic acid. Used for over fifty years, they are used in the composition of plastics, such as PVC. They are viscous, colorless and odorless liquids. They have very low volatility, meaning that their chances of evaporating into the ambient air are almost nil. Conversely, phthalates attach themselves to fats or alcohols and do not mix with water. There are dozens of different types of phthalates. The known, and also the most controlled, is DEHP.