Current Press Releases

November 2009

Study claiming to show prenatal exposure to DEHP and DBP has feminising effect on young boys should be treated with extreme caution says ECPI

A new study, which claims to show that prenatal exposure to DEHP and DBP has a feminising effect on young boys, should be treated with extreme caution, says the European Council for Plasticisers and Intermediates (ECPI).

October 2009

Plasticiser industry comments on the Danish Environment Ministry chemical awareness campaign “65,000 grunde til bedre kemi”

the Danish Environment Ministry's awareness campaign, launched on October 23 2009 to draw attention to possible risks to young children exposed to a range of different chemicals, needs to be kept in perspective.

The Environment Ministry mentions certain "phthalates", as being among the many chemicals that might be of concern. However it is important to note some of the facts which are somewhat buried in the text of the Danish study before jumping to conclusions.

July 2007

No risk from phthalates in cosmetic products says EU Scientific Committee

An official European Union Scientific Committee has confirmed that people using cosmetics which contain phthalates are not endangering their health

April 2006

EU confirms that the most widely used plasticisers are safe

The EU has today confirmed that two of the most widely-used plasticisers are not classified as hazardous and pose no risks to either human health or the environment from their current use. The publication in the European Union Official Journal of the outcomes of the EU risk assessments for Di-‘isononyl’ phthalate (DINP) and Di-‘isodecyl’ phthalate (DIDP) marks the end of a 10 year process of extensive scientific evaluation by regulators and provides confirmation of safety for users across Europe.

July 2005

EU decision to restrict use of phthalates in toys ignores EU risk assessment An entirely political decision that misuses the precautionary principle

The European plasticiser industry is very disappointed and concerned by today's vote in the European Parliament to ban the use of three phthalate plasticisers in toys and childcare items and to restrict the use of three others. Such stringent measures are unnecessary and ignore scientific risk assessments.

June 2005

Study on neonates provides no new information and rings no alarm bellsStatement by the European Council for Plasticisers and Intermediates (ECPI)

A new study published by Environmental Health Perspectives: "Use of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate containing medical products and urinary levels of mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in neonatal intensive care unit infants" contains no significant new information and certainly nothing which rings alarm bells. It agrees with earlier studies and states the obvious -- newborns who receive intensive care, perhaps to save their lives, have measured phthalate levels above the average while undergoing these critical medical procedures.

May 2005

US Statistical Assessment Service publishes excellent critique of endocrine studyAlarmist media reporting misinterprets the already doubtful findings

The Statistical Assessment Service (STATS) at George Mason University in the United States has published an excellent critique of the study and the subsequent alarmist publicity which last week claimed to demonstrate for the first time "a highly significant relationship" between human exposure to phthalates and adverse changes in the genitals of baby boys.


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