 Dibutyl phthalate may not be a household word, but it certainly should be. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that when 298 persons were tested for the chemical—a common plasticizer used in everything from nail polish to shampoo—every person had the compound in their body.
Reports about this compound, which is also known as DBP, were coming out four years ago, stating that it could cause birth defects, primarily in the reproductive organs of male offspring. But these reports were brushed aside by the cosmetic industry as unfounded.
When the information became public in a 2001 Environmental Working Group report, "Beauty Secrets," former vice president of that watchdog group Richard Wiles told the Scripps Howard News Service, "The top 5 percent of women tested had levels that were over the current safety standard (for human exposure) and pushing into the zone of exposure that is getting close to where you start to see birth defects in animals."
Wiles was referring to women between the ages of 20 to 45 who in 2000 were tested for the compound. The CDC was alarmed by the results and believed that these high readings were caused by the cosmetics the women were using. This concern is also compounded by the fact that these women were of childbearing age and DBP is considered a "reproductive toxin" by the government. The study also argues that women using products containing DBP while pregnant are at higher risk.
Until recently, a beauty maven would be hard-pressed to find a bottle of nail polish, gloss or hardener that didn't contain the potent stuff, something I can vouch for firsthand, as I've watched my teenage daughter give up in disgust and frustration after reading endless polish labels that contained DBP. But there are also cosmetic manufacturers that don't list any ingredients on their polish bottles. That, however, doesn't mean no information makes a product safe to use.
Now, thanks to the Europeans who have banned dibutyl phthalate—and all other compounds in the phthalate family—from their products, the United States is rethinking its policy. But more importantly, cosmetic companies like Estée Lauder, which owns Clinique and M.A.C., have stopped putting DBP in their polish. And starting this month, Procter & Gamble, whose brands include Cover Girl, has followed suit.
Other cosmetics companies like Aveda, L'Oréal, Maybelline, Revlon and Urban Decay say their polishes are already pthalates-safe.
But even if that means our toes and nails can sport a polish-safe look, it doesn't mean we can rest on our laurels.
Carcinogenic chemicals can still be found in fragrances, deodorants, hair products, skin moisturizers and even toothpaste. Of the more than 2,300 people surveyed by the EWG and five other public health and environmental organizations, the average adult used nine personal-care products daily, exposing himself or herself to 126 chemicals every day.
Unfortunately, the way the laws are structured, chemicals like phthalates are considered toxic substances under environmental law, but these regulations do not apply to the cosmetics industry. There are no restrictions; the industry is free to use unlimited amounts. For example, if 10 pounds of DBP is released into the environment, it must be reported to environmental authorities. But the cosmetics industry has been putting hundreds of thousands of pounds of DBP in nail polish annually, according to the EWG, and the industry has no reporting or safety-testing requirements.
So it's up to us consumers to check the labels and buy smarter.
For those interested in knowing about what's in the products they use, www. ewg.org offers a product list that can be easily viewed. Additional information can be found at www.safecosmetics.org.
In the meantime, we can all buy safer to protect our health and the health of our children. If we put our collective purchasing power into high gear, maybe we can even influence the federal government to change the dangerous standards that now exist.
We have already seen how strong a hold a consumer's purse has in the food industry, with the growing increase in organic foods available at the market. So why not take it to the next level and effectuate changes in staples that are also part of our daily lives?
There is no logical reason to put chemicals that belong in manufactured items like computers and televisions into or next to our bodies. This multisubstance use may bring financial gains to the companies that sell the products, but there is certainly no benefit for the adults or children who are innocently caught in their bottom-line wake.
Moryt Milo is the editor of The Willow Glen Resident. She can be contacted at 400.200.1051 or mmilo@svcn.com.
|
