What are Phthalates?

Phthalates are a group of synthetic chemicals that have been linked to reproductive damage but which are added to a number of common consumer products. Soft vinyl products may contain more than 40% phthalates by weight. Humans are widely exposed to phthalates because vinyl is a ubiquitous plastic used to make everything from home furnishings (EG flooring and wallpaper), medical devices (EG catheters, IV-and blood bags), children’s items (EG infant cleaning bottles, squeeze toys, changing mats, teethers) to packaging (EG disposable bottles, food wrap).

Beyond vinyl, humans further exposed to phthalates in cosmetics and scented products such as perfumes, soaps, lotions and shampoos. In cosmetics, phthalates are often added to provide flexibility, impart an oily ‘moisturising’ film and help dissolve and fix other ingredients. They also serve as solvents in fragrances.


Phthalates - Background

Phthalates have contaminated the worldwide ecosystem from releases during manufacturing and in normal use of consumer products. They are so pervasive in the environment that human exposure is almost unavoidable.

Given the potential impact of phthalates on public, environmental and occupational health, Women’s Environmental Network, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and Health Care Without Harm began looking at which products contained phthalates. They purchased 34 cosmetic products including perfumes, deodorants, hair gels, hair mousses and hair sprays which were independently tested at Analycen in Sweden. It was found that most of the products contained phthalates – either individual phthalates or multiple phthalates.


Phthalates – Names to Look Out For

BBP Butyl benzyl phthalate
DBP Di (n-butyl) phthalate
DEHP Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate
DEP Diethyl phthalate
DHP Di-n-hexyl phthalate
DIDP Di-isodecyl phthalate
DINP Di-isononyl phthalate
DMP Di-methyliso phthalate
DNOP Di-n-octyl phthalate
MBP Mono-n-butyl phthalate
MEHP Monoethylhexyl phthalate
MPP Monopentyl phthalate






Phthalates – Consumer Facts

To add to consumer confusion, none of the 34 products tested listed phthalates as an ingredient on the label. This is because current EU law does not require full disclosure of cosmetic ingredients. This compromises consumer protection since buyers who wish to avoid phthalate exposure cannot identify which products contain them.

It is interesting to note that of the 34 products analysed, the ones without phthalates were hair gels and mousses – all the deodorants, hair sprays and perfumes tested contained phthalates. What is interesting though is that when a similar study of products by the same manufacturers was carried out in the US, the products did not contains phthalates - proving that they are not required in the products!

Cosmetics in the EU are regulated by the Cosmetics Directive 76/768/EEC. This directive essentially places the responsibility for regulating cosmetics in the hands of the powerful European cosmetics industry that produced sales topping 54 billion Euros in 2001 – so basically the industry ‘regulates’ itself! In November 2002, the EU amended directive 76/768/EEC to order the removal of two phthalates in the very near future because of their reproductive toxicity – they were DEHP and DBP


Phthalates – Animal Studies

But other members of the phthalates chemical family display reproductive toxicity in animal studies. Some of the effects were decreased fertility in females, foetal defects, reduced survival of offspring, birth defects, altered hormones levels and uterine damage. Phthalates that displayed one or more of these effects include BBP, DEP, DHP, DIDP, DINP, MBP, MDP and MEHP. Many of these were found in 27 of the 34 products tested.

Phthalates such as DEHP, DBP and DEP are readily transferred to the placenta and the growing embryo and foetus. In the 1970’s, DEHP was found in human placenta. Phthalates are also passed to offspring during lactation. In males, phthalates cause prostate damage, female-like nipples and reproductive malformations in infants.

The reproductive effects of phthalates represent part of a spectrum of toxic effects observed in animal studies, including adverse effects on the liver, kidneys, heart, lungs and blood. Human patients undergoing haemodialysis are exposed to large doses of DEHP from the PVC tubing. Changes in liver enzymes similar to those observed in animal studies are also seen in these patients. Phthalates can also adversely impact the heart and blood pressure. One study observed a slowing of the heart rate in response to MEHP, the metabolite of DEHP, at levels encountered by coronary bypass patients.


Phthalates and the Environment

The manufacture, use and disposal of cosmetics, PVC and other phthalate containing products have resulted in extensive environmental releases of phthalates. Phthalates are now one of the most abundant industrial pollutants in the environment. Phthalates such as DEHP have been measured in virtually all fresh water and marine environments and in lake sediments, storm water run off, sewage treatment plants and sewage sludge. DEHP has been found in the Antarctic pack ice, the Antarctic sub-surface snow, at depths of up to 3 meters and in deep sea jellyfish more than 1000 meters below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.


Phthalates and our Bodies

The EU Chemicals Regulation regime considers the exposure to one phthalate at a time from one type of product. But actual human exposure does not occur singly, but in aggregate, complex mixtures. We are exposed to phthalates through food, water, air and the use of phthalate containing consumer products.

The tendency to sue multiple cosmetics illustrates the potential for aggregate exposure to phthalates. A survey of cosmetics use amongst UK women indicates that up to 26 products may be used in a single day!




x