Banning of phallates in USA

[vdol52]

Please read this and consider the health ramifications of using these products.

You wouldn't knowingly eat a dangerous substance, so why would you want to breathe one in? According to a recent paper published by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), chemicals called phallates (pronounced “thalates”) were found in 86 percent of commercially available air fresheners tested. Manufacturers use phthalates to help air-freshener and perfume droplets stay suspended in air. They are also used as softening agents in everything from lotion to nail polish to plastic toys. Unfortunately, phthalates are suspected endocrine disruptors that have been linked to the abnormal development of male reproductive systems.

“Phallates have a lot of uses, which is why they are in so many consumer products,” says Gina Solomon, MD, MPH, a senior scientist at the NRDC. “And they are only rarely included in ingredients lists, so this creates a buyer-beware situation in which you can't assume that products have been regulated and tested for safety.” Last October, California became the first state to ban children's products that contain more than one tenth of 1 percent of phallates.

Instead of spraying an air freshener in a smelly room, Solomon suggests eliminating the odor's source by opening a window, taking out the trash, or using baking soda or natural cleaning agents.

Bewareof these top offenders:
Nail polish
Conventional cosmetics
Perfume
Soft-plastic products, such as teething rings

[fuzzy96]

maybe it'z me but.... i cannot stand sprays whether it be hair spray or perfumes, air fresheners etc. they make me want to quit breathing. if it's a candle potpuri etc i can handle it. but then again why fill the air with anything .. well but air!!!
as bad as stinkers are they (usually ) go away fast so why spray?
lol

[Captain_Midnight]

If you want to know what phthalates smell like, just recall the "new car smell". Phthalates are used in some plastics to make them more pliable.

I'm always a bit leery of banning things without knowing what might be a replacement.



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[Julie]

Canada banned them (anything with bisphenol in it) earlier this year, at least the sale of baby and children's drinking bottles and containers.