But the ban doesn't spell out what chemicals they can use to replace phthalates.
Phthalates have long been used as a way to make plastic soft and flexible.
Humans, unlike the test rats, typically ingest minute quantities of phthalates over many years.
And for now, he says, phthalates are the plasticizer of choice for the industry.
If approved by both chambers, the bill would also provisionally ban three other types of phthalates.
Previous research on animals has suggested phthalates may damage reproductive development by disrupting hormone levels.
Exposure to phthalates during development can also cause malformations of the male reproductive tract and testicular cancer.
From a chemical perspective, high-weight phthalates are tightly bound, more stable and more resilient than low phthalates.
Yet it remains curious that the same evidence about phthalates arouses so much less concern in America.
The chemicals are called phthalates, and the scientific investigation into their health effects is a long way from settled.
Phthalates are plasticizers used to increase the flexibility and durability of a product.
Deborah Cory-Slechta is chairing a National Academy of Sciences panel looking into phthalates.
In various studies phthalates have been linked to birth defects, infertility, early puberty, asthma, ADHD, obesity, diabetes, and cancer.
FORBES: Report Finds Toxic Levels of Phthalates Lurking in Popular Back-to-School Items
Many scientists believe that the biological mechanism by which phthalates cause illnesses in rodents does not operate in humans.
Another big uncertainty is the rate at which phthalates escape from toys into the mouths of children who chew them.
He says you can make ducks and other toys without using phthalates, but the alternative chemicals haven't been as well-studied.
The big guys, like Dow and Exxon Mobil, filed more patents for alternatives to phthalates, for example, than anyone.
FORBES: Exclusive: New Research Links Chemical Regulation with Market Innovation
Scientific research has linked exposure to phthalates to rising asthma rates as well as various learning and developmental disabilities in children.
As in the case of BPA, science bodies around the world have found low phthalates taken into the body are safely metabolized.
Phthalates are known to interfere with the production of male reproductive hormones in animals and likely to have similar effects in humans.
Greenpeace wants to see companies eliminate the use of hazardous substances such as polyvinyl chloride, brominated flame retardants, antimony, beryllium, and phthalates.
It is the first piece of evidence that we have that phthalates may cause adverse effects on reproductive development in human foetuses.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that children are particularly vulnerable and have the highest exposure to phthalates.
FORBES: Report Finds Toxic Levels of Phthalates Lurking in Popular Back-to-School Items
In testimony before Congress, Wind summarized the research her agency had done on phthalates in children's products and argued against the proposed ban.
The company has announced plans to remove phthalates, as well as parabens and triclosan and certain fragrance ingredients from its products by 2015.
FORBES: Exclusive: New Research Links Chemical Regulation with Market Innovation
Phthalates can leach into food, resulting in hormone imbalances and birth defects although no one knows at what level those effects are triggered, he says.
The long-term regulatory fate of the high phthalates is less sure.
Rats exposed to phthalates had offspring with higher rates of kidney and prostate disease, and their great-grandchildren had more disease of the testicles, ovaries and obesity.
Yesterday, representatives from the Senate and House agreed to a language that would essentially ban three kinds of phthalates from use in children's toys or childcare products.
应用推荐