Powerful words urge action on phthalates

Phthalates are everywhere, and recent high-profile articles are making sure people know it - and that they push the government to do something about it. 

In a powerful editorial last week, Nicholas D. Kristof of the New York Times pressed for federal action on phthalates, calling existing regulation "pathetic." He wrote:

"If terrorists were putting phthalates in our drinking water, we would be galvanized to defend ourselves and to spend billions of dollars to ensure our safety. But the risks are just as serious if we’re poisoning ourselves, and it’s time for the Obama administration and Congress to show leadership in this area."

At The Huffington Post, EatingLiberally.org's Kerry Trueman also takes a swing at political idleness on phthalates:

We cannot allow our government to neglect our municipal water supply and encourage the privatization of water by enabling multinational corporations to drain our aquifers and perpetuate the myth that bottled water is safer than tap ... since the source of our water woes is just good ol' fashioned capitalism run amok, we lack the political will to tackle this problem," she wrote.

The science proving the chemical's affects, such as findings last week linking phthalate levels to pre-term births, is also growing. And researchers themselves are advocating for consumers - and for regulation.

"One of the problems for consumers is that you don't know exactly which products contain phthalates because the products do not have to be labeled accordingly," said John Meeker of the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor, who led the study.