About Phthalates

Phthalates

Globally, more than 18 billion pounds of phthalates are produced each year. They are primarily used as plasticizers in flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products, such as vinyl shower curtains, flooring, and medical devices, among many others.

Phthalates also appear in many children's toys. Phthalates are also used in a wide range of other products, such as fragrances and pill coatings and are found in Americans of all ages, sizes, and races. Evidence has been building in recent years that links phthalates to adverse health effects such as reproductive and developmental problems, respiratory impairment and other harmful effects on organs in humans and in laboratory animals.

In the Is It In Us? study, four of the five participants in whom we found measurable levels of dimethyl phthalate had levels above the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) population-wide 95th percentile – meaning that in CDC’s study, 95% of the participants had lower levels.

For more information see www.isitinus.org.