Phthalates:
A recent study found that a daily exposure to phthalates is linked to 3.5 lakh, or 13 percent, of deaths in the world due to heart disease in 2018 among people aged between 55 and 65 years of age.
- Phthalates are a family of chemical compounds primarily used in plastic products (most commonly in the specific type of plastic named polyvinyl chloride, also known as
- They are the most commonly used plasticisers in the world and are categorised as high and low phthalates depending on the molecular weight.
- They may be blended as an additive into special plastics in order to increase the performance of the material.
- They are used to soften plastics, making them more flexible or more durable.
- They are sometimes used to decrease the melting temperature of plastics to aid the moulding process.
- They are used in hundreds of products, including vinyl flooring, adhesives, detergents, lubricating oils, automotive plastics, plastic clothes (raincoats), and personal-care products (soaps, shampoos, hairsprays, and nail polishes).
- They are used widely in polyvinyl chloride plastics, which are used to make products such as plastic packaging film and sheets, garden hoses, inflatable toys, blood storage containers, medical tubing, and some children’s toys.
- They also have a wide application in screen print, heat transfer inks, and plastisol inks.
- Since phthalates are not chemically bound to the polymer molecule, they can be released from products or dissolve when in contact with liquids or fats.
- As a result, they may migrate out of a material, resulting in exposure to humans and the environment.
- Some phthalates are endocrine disruptors, a class of potent chemicals that interfere with our hormone systems.
- Some of the health harms associated with phthalates are changes to fertility, early puberty and risk of low birth weight, obesity, diabetes, impacts to the immune system, cardiovascular and respiratory problems, some cancers, and neurological and behavioral problems.
