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October 5, 2005
About That Wall Street Journal Article
Well, the long awaited WSJ article on phthalates was published today. I have to say, that I was pleasantly surprised on how much ink Peter Waldman gave me. But, I am concerned that the reader is left with the impression that much is not known about phthalates. Like many other journalists Mr. Waldman overstates the impact on infant genitalia, when the fact is that Dr. Swan did not claim such effects as her primary finding. In fact, she said there were no frank malformations, or gross abnormalities. Because we lack the specific expertise on the Panel, the article written by Dr. Swan is now being reviewed by an outside team comprising an MD, epidemiologist and developmental toxicologist. This will help the Panel –and the public and media -- understand the basis of the assertions being made.
(For a critique of the article, see http://stats.org/record.jsp?type=news&ID=515.)
I’ve watched the Phthalate Esters Panel members fund nearly $20 million of research in the 15 years I’ve managed the group. The group will continue to fund research because we really want to maximize our understanding of phthalates. The WSJ article highlights a few pieces of very speculative research, but doesn’t tally up the huge number of good solid research studies. Peter put in tons of research into the writing of this article; I spent several hours talking and e-mailing him. I guess the bottom line is that reasonable doesn’t make a front page story; heightening fears better serves that purpose.
I really wish I could get regular folks to understand a few simple things:
Phthalates are among the best studied family of chemicals in use today. Many of those studies suggest that health effects seen in rodents are irrelevant to humans.
All serious and thorough governmental reviews of phthalates have shown them to be safe for use at current levels of exposure. The government’s own data show that human exposure of the general population to phthalates is far below the levels that cause problems in rodents.
Perhaps most important, the new studies have not undergone scientific scrutiny. They have not been rigorously analyzed nor have they been replicated.
When I weigh this with over 50 years of safety studies, I’ve got to tell you, I’m personally comfortable about using phthalate containing products. I would also not hesitate to allow the people I care about and love to use products containing them.
Posted by Chris at October 5, 2005 2:06 PM
Comments
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Posted by: Justyn at October 16, 2007 11:58 PM
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Posted by: Albert at October 18, 2007 4:17 AM