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[No. 2] EPA to address phthalates and other chemicals of concern. As part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s commitment to strengthen and reform chemical management, on December 30, 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced “a series of actions on four chemicals raising serious health or environmental concerns, including phthalates.  For the first time, EPA intends to establish a “Chemicals of Concern” list and is beginning a process that may lead to regulations requiring significant risk reduction measures to protect human health and the environment.  The agency’s actions represent its determination to use its authority under the existing Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to the fullest extent possible, recognizing EPA’s strong belief that the 1976 law is both outdated and in need of reform.” For the press release on this topic, please go to http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/eeffe922a687433c85257359003f5340/2852c60dc0f65c688525769c0068b219!OpenDocument  or click here.

It is not clear what impact as yet would this EPA initiative have on the composition of artificial turf fields. As reported previously on this site, phthalates are chemical additives that render hard plastics flexible. Phthalates tend to turn up in chemical analysis of crumb rubber infill that is used on artificial turf fields. One could suspect that phthalates be present in the artificial grass blades that are made of plastics. See, previous postings at http://www.synturf.org/crumbrubber.html  (Nos. 5 and 6);   http://www.synturf.org/warnings.html  (No. 12); http://www.synturf.org/warnings.html  (Item No. 31, October 2008); “What’s in the artificial turf fiber http://www.synturf.org/wrapuparticles.html  (Item No. 09, January 2009).  

In October 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported that, “Once omnipresent in plastic toys, phthalates have been used in everything from action figures to vinyl inner tubes. But the industrial chemicals began to fall out of favor after a number of studies linked them to genital development problems in rodents, a finding eventually correlated to human infants.” Beginning in February 2009 three types of phthalates “will be banned from children's toys and child-care products” and “three other types of phthalates will be temporarily prohibited from child-care products and toys that can be placed in a child's mouth.” For more of the WSJ story go to Nicholas Casey and Melanie Trotman, “Toys Containing Banned Plastics Still on Market: Restrictions on Phthalates Don't Take Effect Until '09; Fears of Reproductive Defects,” in Wall Street Journal, October 23, 2008, available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122472242723860917.html .

[No. 01] Study: Phthalates worsen skin allergies in newborn mice exposed through their mothers.  Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is added to plastics, usually to make them flexible. Because of its widespread use in polyvinyl plastics, it is found almost everywhere in the environment. The compound is present in some food packaging, many household products, soft plastic toys, auto upholstery and medical tubing/bags. Exposure occurs through food, water, air and medical procedures in which DEHP-containing products are used.  DEHP is a common contaminant of household dust, because it is commonly used in vinyl flooring and in the backing of carpets.

In 2008, Environment and Human Health, Inc. (www.ehhi.org) published a report entitled “Plastics that May be Harmful to Children and Reproductive Health.” In it, EHHI discussed the effects of DEHP, including studies that show DEHP's capabilities of causing allergic reactions. The chemical's link to reproductive effects in lab animals -- specifically infertility and male reproductive defects -- has led the European Union, Canada and the state of California to ban DEHP in toys and infant products. The Federal Government, has now banned DEHP in products that are aimed for children under 12  - however the law is not retroactive - and thus products that are on the shelves or fields with DEHP may still persist for some time.

In a recent study researchers also have found that “Newborn male mice exposed to a common phthalate plasticizer (DEHP) through their mothers developed more severe allergic skin reactions to allergens than unexposed mice.” “Research with mice reveals that the phthalate DEHP can increase the severity of allergic reactions in young animals when they are exposed neonatally to the contaminant via their mother's milk.” “Rates of allergic skin conditions -- called dermitits -- are increasing in people. Generally, the skin becomes swollen, red and itchy after being exposed to an allergen. These new results may shed light on one of the drivers of this trend.” “This study suggests that environmental chemicals like DEHP may increase the potency of reactions to allergens and thereby play a role in the development and/or enhancement of allergic diseases.”

The study is R. Yanagisawa, H Takano, K. Inoue, E. Koike, K. Sadakane and T. Ichinose, Effects of maternal exposure to di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate during fetal and/or neonatal periods on atopic dermatitis in male offspring and it is published in Environmental Health Perspectives 116:1136-1141 (2008). The synopsis of the study is available at Environmental Health News (published by Environmental Health Sciences) under “Phthalates worsen skin allergies in newborn mice exposed through their mothers,” January 14, 2009, available at http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/phthalte-exposure-raises-skin-allergies-in-mice/ or click here .